




* AT '^ • 



^v *^^^ '♦•To' ^0 







•'^^' \/ ,'^*-- \,<^^ /' 












Vv«^ 







* '^*. 

















•^^^ • 




' 



rl°^ 



« -J'"'^^ V 









<> .. '^ •""' 








.♦^•V. 










Romance-History of America: III 

THE COMING 
OF THE PEOPLES 

FRANCIS ROLT-WHEELER 



By FRANCIS ROLT-WHEELER 



Round the World with the Boy Journalists 
Plotting in Pirate Seas 
Hunting Hidden Treasure in the Andes 
Heroes of the Ruins 

Romance-History of America 

In the Days Before Columbus 
The Quest of the Western World 
The Coming of the Peoples 



NEW YORK: GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 





m 




^^^ 
^^. 




THIRST FOR EXPLORATION HAD SEIZKD UPON THE OI.D WORLD 

As early as 1578, Gilbert started with a fleet of seven ships "to discover and plant 
Christian inhabitants, in places convenient, upon those large and ample countries 
extended northward from the Cape of Florida . . . not in the actual possession 
of any Christian princr." 



THE COMING 
OF THE PEOPLES 

FRANCIS HOLT- WHEELER 

Author of "Heroes of the Ruins," "In the Days Before Columbus," 

"Plotting in Pirate Seas," "Hunting Hidden Treasure in 

the Andes," "The Boy with the U. S. Census," 

"The Aztec Hunters," etc. 



With a Frontispiece hy 

C. A. FEDERER 

and Many Illustrations 

and Maps 




NEW ^IB^ YORK 
GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 






COPYEIGHT, 192S, 
BY GEOEGE H. DORAK COMPANY 



THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES. I 
PRINTED IK THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 



OCT 25 '22 

C1A683885 X^A 






Qo CONTENTS 

-■■^ 

CHAPTER I 

PAQB 

Perilous Beginnings ..j • . 11 

CHAPTER II 
The Tragedy of Roanoke 25 

CHAPTER III 
John Smith and Pocahontas ,. 41 

CHAPTER IV 
The Starving Time . Q5 

CHAPTER V 
The Land of Tobacco 90 

CHAPTER VI 
The KIent Island Fight ., .: • 113 

CHAPTER VII 
The Gallantry of France . 132 

CHAPTER VIII 
The Coming of the Jesuits 158 

CHAPTER IX 
Hudson and the Dutch ........ 183 

V 



vi CONTENTS 



CHAPTER X 

PAGE 

Wanderings op the Pilgrims 200 

CHAPTER XI 
On Rugged Plymouth Shore 219 

CHAPTER XII 
The Puritan Flood 247 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Thirst for Exploration Had Seized upon the 

Old World Frontispiece 

PAGE 

A Merchant of the Time of Queen Elizabeth . 22 

Sir Walter Raleigh 22 

Sebastian Cabot Setting Out from England to 

Cross the Atlantic 23 

John White's Map of Virginia 23 

Captain John Smith 30 

The Fleet of Sir Francis Drake Lying Off the 

Coast of Florida 30 

Indians Cooking Fish 31 

Smith's Map of Virginia 31 

The Death of Queen Elizabeth 46 

Sir Walter Raleigh, a Prisoner in the Tower . 47 

The Defeat of the Spanish Armada .... 62 

Pocahontas Claiming the Life of the Condemned 

Man at the Execution Stone 6S 

The Arrival of the First Supply 70 

Pocahontas Learning to Read 70 

Captain John Smith Dueling with Turks ... 70 

The Crowning of Powhatan 71 

The Baptism of Pocahontas 94 

Pocahontas and Her Son 94 

The Location of the Early Colonial Settle- 
ments 95 

vii 



viii ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Map Showing the English and French Settle- 
ments 142 

The French Settlements in the Gulf of St. 

Lawrence 142 

The Surrender of the Settlements of Quebec 

IN 1629 143 

The Sea of Verrazano 174 

Hudson Receiving His Sailing Orders from the 

Muscovy Company 174 

Henry Hudson 175 

The Half Moon 190 

Hudson Interviews the Indians of Manhattan . 190 

Van Der Donck's Map of New Netherlands 1656 191 

The Pilgrims of the Mayflower 206 

The Pilgrims Attempt to Escape to Holland . 207 

The First Thanksgiving in America .... 207 

A Model of the Mayflower 222 

The Mayflower in Provincetown Harbor . . 222 

The Dunes of Provincetown 223 

Pilgrim Meersteads Along Town Brook . . . 223 

The Pilgrim 238 

St. George's Fort on the Kennebec River . . 239 

Captain John Smith's Map of New England . . 254 



THE COMING 
OF THE PEOPLES 



THE COMING OF 
THE PEOPLES 

CHAPTER I 

PERILOUS BEGINNINGS 

The Spaniards exploited America for gold, the 
French established trading-posts for furs, the 
English built homes. The gold was spent, the furs 
were worn, the homes remained. 

The United States to-day is English in its lan- 
guage, most of its law and many of its customs. 
The Englishmen who came to the New World 
stayed and became Americans, the Spaniards and 
the French who came had ever their hearts in 
their home-lands and looked on America as an 
abiding-place, only. 

The English were the first true colonists. To 
this there was but the one exception — the Spanish 
colony at St. Augustine, Florida. 

Cabot brought the English flag to American 
shores, but it was as an explorer. Drake brought 
the flag, likewise, but it was as a privateer. It 
was Ealeigh and other courtiers in the train of 
Queen Elizabeth who caused the flag of England 

11 



12 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

to fly over the first English colony in the New 
World. 

Those high-hearted men of that age of glory 
sounded the first blast of that great trumpet-peal 
which has rung for three centuries from the shores 
of America. Valor, courtesy, independence and 
loyalty were the four great requirements for a 
courtier of Elizabeth. The region settled under 
the reign of the Virgin Queen — and hence known 
as Virginia — saw the establishment in America of 
these four great virtues. To this day, Virginia 
and the neighboring states possess a character of 
thoir own. 

Although the name of Sir Walter Ealeigh is al- 
ways remembered in connction with the early set- 
tlement of Virginia, he was not the first to make a 
colonizing effort on behalf of the English. That 
great fame belongs to Sir Humphrey Gilbert, the 
half-brother of Ealeigh. 

As early as 1578, Gilbert started with a fleet 
of seven ships ^^to discover and plant Christian 
inhabitants, in place convenient, upon those large 
and ample countries extended northward from the 
cape of Florida . . . not in the actual possession 
of any Christian prince.'' 

Though the expedition was under the command 
of Gilbert, Sir Walter Raleigh — then but a young 
man and not yet knighted — was in command of the 
Falcon, one of the smaller ships. 

The charter which was given to Gilbert by 
Queen Elizabeth, bestowed on him the right to 



PERILOUS BEGINNINGS 13 

explore unknown coasts and take possession of 
them in the name of England. The colonists were 
given the same rights as Englishmen, so long as 
they should not disobey the laws, attack the Chris- 
tian faith or withdraw from their allegiance to 
Elizabeth. 

Doom brooded over Gilbert. The expedition 
met disaster at the very outset. Not one of the 
vessels ever reached the shores of America. 
Ealeigh, eager for the smiles of the Virgin Queen 
and unwilling to return empty-handed, went off 
hunting treasure on his own account. 

Yet Gilbert was far from losing heart. On 
June 11, 1583, he set forth with five ships and 260 
men. There were two fair-sized vessels, the De- 
light and the Raleigh, two smaller ones, the Golden 
Hind and the Swallow, and a tiny frigate, the 
Squirrel. Although one of the ships was called 
by Raleigh *s name, he did not sail with the expe- 
dition. 

Two days after the start, the Raleigh deserted 
.the fleet and put bp^k to Plymouth. 

The Western Ocean froAvned upon the venture. 
The fleet encountered head winds and constant 
fogs. The vessels became separated, and, before 
they were halfway across the Atlantic, not one of 
the ships had any of her consorts in sight. 

The Golden Hind ran into the midst of huge 
icebergs, which her captain compared to ^* moun- 
tains of ice driven upon the sea, ' ' a sight rare and 
terrible to seamen in those days. Three days 



14 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

later, her captain sighted **an uncomfortable 
coast, nothing but hideous rocks and mountains, 
bare of trees and void of any green herb, whereon 
so great a haze and fog did hang, as neither might 
we well discern the land, nor take the sun's 
height.'' 

This desolate spot was undoubtedly the east- 
ern shore of Newfoundland. Even in the rare 
days of sunshine which sometimes happen there 
in summer time, this coast is bleak and dreary. 

A few days later, the Golden Hind encountered 
the Swallow. The crew of that vessel had been 
adventuring in reckless fashion. Finding the pro- 
visions running short, they had turned pirates, 
and had plundered two French craft. Explorers 
were none too particular in those days. 

The two ships sailed southward to the harbor 
of St. John's, the point previously agreed upon for 
meeting. There they found their flagship, the De- 
light, which had been joined by the Squirrel the 
day before. 

Their troubles were only beginning. At St. 
John's, they met with unexpected opposition. 
The fishermen and traders refused to allow the 
fleet to enter the harbor. 

The Newfoundland Banks, perhaps the greatest 
fishing grounds in the world, had first been dis- 
covered by French fishers. The Portuguese fol- 
lowed and the English craft came last. In con- 
sequence, these shoals in the open sea w^ere re- 



PERILOUS BEGINNINGS 15 

garded as common to all. The shores adjacent 
were treated as an international zone. 

Nor was this the only tangle about the New- 
foundland Bants. Both Spain and Portugal 
claimed Newfoundland under the verdict of the 
Pope, both France and England claimed the same 
territory under the rights of discovery. 

The English fishers had bullied the others into 
a sort of discontented admission; of their au- 
thority. The ^* admirals'* of the fishing fleets 
were generally Englishmen. When Gilbert's four 
ships arrived, there were thirty-six fishing and 
trading vessels in the harbor, each captain jealous 
of any intrusion on what he deemed his right. 
They were a pugnacious breed and quite prepared 
to give fight. 

Gilbert was equally ready for battle, if neces- 
sary. Secure in his authority and with four ves- 
sels at his back, he sent word to each of the fish- 
ing *^ admirals'' that he had a commission from 
Queen Elizabeth, and that he would enter the har- 
bor, whether they would, or no. The name of the 
Queen and the guns of Gilbert 's fleet were potent, 
and he sailed in, unmolested. 

The captains and the settlers had their rights, 
and the holder of the first colonization charter did 
not ignore them. He went ashore and took formal 
possession of St. John's ^^and 200 leagues every 
way ' ' in the name of the Queen. Yet Gilbert did 
not forget to look after his own interests. He 
declared himself Governor and announced that his 



16 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

title should descend to his heirs in perpetuity. 
He gave all land-holders due and proper deeds to 
their lands, but he made them pay him rent. Thus 
Newfoundland passed from an international zone 
to become an English colony, of which the Gilbert 
family were to be the lords forever. 

Yet there was mischief abroad. Some of the 
sailors of the fleet deserted, to join the fishing 
craft ; others were tempted by the pay offered by 
traders ; several hid in the woods with the inten- 
tion of becoming settlers after Gilbert should 
have gone. The mining expert of the expedition 
roused the hopes of others by a report that he 
had found signs of silver. Accordingly, when 
Gilbert was ready to set sail for more southern 
shores, there were not sailors enough to man all 
the vessels and the Swallow was left behind. 

Since exploration was now his chief aim, Gil- 
bert removed his flag from the Delight to the tiny 
Squirrel, which could run into narrow creeks and 
shallow bays which would be dangerous for larger 
craft. A tragic error in seamanship was made in 
removing the heavy guns from the Swallow to the 
Squirrel, thus overloading the decks of the tiny 
frigate. 

They set sail two weeks later, but soon met head 
winds, dangerous cross-currents and heavy fog. 
Driving southward in heavy weather, suddenly, 
through the driving rain, the master of the Golden 
Hind saw breakers ahead. 

He signaled instantly to the Delight, which was 



PERILOUS BEGINNINGS 17 

ahead, and therefore nearer to the breakers. But 
the officers on board the larger craft must have 
been keeping poor watch, for the signals were not 
noticed for several minutes. When they were 
seen, the vessel veered. It was too late! She 
struck the shoal and was almost instantly bat- 
tered to pieces. 

Amid the hoarse shouting of the officers and the 
shrieking of cordage, the Golden Hind and the 
Squirrel came up into the wind. With the surf 
creaming over the shoal just a cable ^s length from 
them, they fought their way out to sea. The peril 
was imminent. The lead showed only three 
fathoms (eighteen feet) of water, and ^^the seas 
were going mightily and high.'' 

Despite the gale and the treacherous shoals, a 
gallant search was made for the survivors of the 
Delight. None were found. 

Fourteen men of the crew, indeed, had leapt 
into a small boat, without food or water, and, 
after six days of tossing on a heavy sea, were cast 
upon a Newfoundland beach with two of their 
number dead. Evil fortune persisted, however, 
for the survivors were at once made prisoners by 
the French. 

The wreck was a terrible loss to the expedi- 
tion, for the Delight had been the largest ship. 
She had carried the bulk of the provisions and 
one hundred men. Menaced by scant supplies of 
food, further exploration became impossible. Two 
days after the wreck of the Delight, Gilbert was 



18 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

forced to head for England. A strange thing 
happened ! 

At the very instant that the vessels turned their 
prows to the eastward, the crews saw **a very 
lion, to our seeming, in shape, hair and color, 
not swimming after the manner of a beast by mov- 
ing of his feet, but rather sliding upon the water 
with his whole body in sight. . . . Thus he passed 
along, turning his head to and fro, yawning and 
gaping wide, with ugly demonstration of long 
teeth and glaring eyes. And, to bid us farewell, 
he sent forth a horrible voice, roaring and bellow- 
ing as doeth a lion." 

This was the first time that any English sail- 
ors had seen a sea-lion, and many of them were 
frightened. They declared it to be an evil omen. 
Gilbert, to give his men courage, declared that 
it was a sign of good. 

That very night, however, a single ** corpse- 
candle" was seen shining on the mast of the 
Squirrelj a sign which sailor superstition declares 
to be a sure prognostication of coming harm. 

The captain of the Golden Hind begged Gilbert 
to come on board the larger vessel, as the Squir- 
rel was in constant danger of being swamped by 
the heavy seas. But the gallant leader answered : 

**I will not forsake my little company, going 
homeward, with whom I have passed so many 
storms and perils." 

Tempest followed upon tempest. Half-a-dozen 
times the cry rose on board the Golden Hind that 



PERILOUS BEGINNINGS 19 

the Squirrel was gone. Yet, an instant later, the 
cockle-shell of a craft would be seen rising on the 
crest of a wave, to be hidden a second afterwards 
in the trough. 

North of the Azores, on September 9, the cap- 
tain of the Golden Hind became convinced that 
the tiny frigate could not stay afloat much longer. 
At great personal risk, he ran his ship close 
enough to the Squirrel for his voice to be heard. 
Across the roar of the wind and the crashing of 
the waves, he bellowed his pleadings to Gilbert 
that he should transfer to the larger craft. 

But the commander shouted cheerily: 

*^We are as near to Heaven by the sea as by 
land!'^ 

They were his last recorded words. A few 
hours later, the watch on the forecastle of the 
Golden Hind saw the hghts of the Squirrel dis- 
appear. **And, in that moment," wrote Captain 
Hayes, **the frigate was devoured and swallowed 
up of the sea." 

So perished that valorous gentleman. Sir 
Humphrey Gilbert, the first to try the planting 
of an English colony upon American shores. 

Sir Walter Raleigh, Gilbert 's haK-brother, took 
up the adventure. Being high in the favor of 
Queen Elizabeth, the young courtier had no dif- 
ficulty in securing Gilbert's charter for himself. 
Adrian Gilbert, Sir Humphrey's heir, was as- 
sociated with Ealeigh, and Richard Hakluyt was 
a friend of both. 



20 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Although Hakluyt was not a traveler, but a 
writer, his influence on American exploration 
was very great. He was a lawyer and a clergy- 
man, with a passion for geography and a quick 
perception of trade opportunities. His famous 
book, entitled *^ Divers Voyages,'' which was 
published in 1582, had been the stimulus which 
caused Gilbert to set out on his fatal expedition 
of 1583, by which Newfoundland became an Eng- 
lish colony. It was Hakluyt, also, who held Ra- 
leigh firm to his purpose of colonizing America. 

An able geographer, Hakluyt was able to put 
his finger on the principal cause for Gilbert's 
failure. The expedition had landed too far to 
the north. He urged Ealeigh to send a small sur- 
vey party before risking a large amount of money 
and many lives. In April, 1584, two small ships 
were sent by Raleigh and Adrian Gilbert to ex- 
plore the American coast, further to the south. 
These ships were under the command of Captains 
Amadas and Barlowe. To them is due the fame 
of the discovery of Virginia, and the first alliance 
between England and the North American In- 
dians. 

They made the land of America at the south of 
the long sand-spit which encloses Pamlico Sound 
and sailed along it for 120 miles. At last they 
found an opening, which may well have been 
Okracoke Inlet. 

On the shoals outside this inlet, they anchored 
their ships. A very brief survey showed that the 



PERILOUS BEGINNINGS 21 

sand-spit was useless for colonization. They 
crossed Pamlico Sound in boats, wondering at its 
shallowness for so wide a stretch of water and 
being astonished at the number of fish. They 
reached the mainland on July 13, 1584, and took 
possession of the country in the Queen's name. 

After they had been there three days, some In- 
dians approached. At first they were timid, but, 
at last, one was venturesome enough to accom- 
pany the captains back to the ship, in his canoe. 
Amadas and Barlowe presented him with cloth- 
ing and other gifts. In token of gratitude, the 
Indian went fishing, and, next day, brought back 
a boat-load of fish. The day following, many 
more canoes arrived, and among the leaders of 
the Indians was Granganimeo, brother to Win- 
gina, the head chief of the tribe. Forty braves 
accompanied him. The captains were friendly 
and gifts were exchanged. 

A curious example of the mistakes which may 
occur when people know nothing of each other's 
language occurred at this time. Several of the 
Indians exclaimed to the strangers, 

* * Win-gan-dacoa ! ' ' 

The English captains, who had tried to ask the 
Indians — ^by signs — what was the name of this 
country that they had found, supposed this to be 
the Indian name of the land. As a matter of 
fact, the real meaning of the phrase was: 

*^What fine clothes you wear I'' 

Finding the redskins so friendly, Amadas and 



22 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Barlowe commenced trading, and explored the 
greater part of Pamlico Sound, north to Roanoke 
Island and even beyond. So ably did these two 
captains arrange matters with the Indians that 
they were able to persuade two of them, Manteo 
and Wanchese, to accompany them back to Eng- 
land. These two Indians were to have a potent 
effect on the colonization that was to follow later. 
After a stay of two months, Amadas and Barlowe 
set sail and arrived in England without misad- 
venture. 

Queen Elizabeth was more than delighted with 
this report, which added a large and fertile coun- 
try to her realm. Realizing that the discovery was 
due to the persistence of Raleigh, she knighted 
him. 

Moreover, charmed with Barlowe ^s phrase that 
he had discovered '^a virgin land for a virgin 
queen, '^ she insisted that the new territory 
should not be called * * Wingandacoa, ' ^ as the In- 
dians were supposed to have named it, but *^ Vir- 
ginia, '^ in her honor. 

Sir Walter Raleigh thus became ^^ Governor of 
Virginia.'* As such, he was fevered with the de- 
sire to colonize so promising and fertile a ter- 
ritory, not only for his own sake, but also to 
please the queen. 

There are two sides to colonization. Those 
who go to a new place must leave the old. Every 
family that emigrates is so much strength lost to 




A MERCHANT OF THE TIME OF QUEEN ELIZABETH 

It was the merchant adventurers of England, who fitted out the expeditions for 
trade and exploration to find the hidden wealth of the New Continent, who were 
the real founders of the settlements of the New World. 




SIR WALTER RALEIGH 



It was Sir Walter Raleigh and other courtiers in the train of Queen Elizabeth who 
caused the flag of England to fly over the first English Colonies in the New World. 




Copyriahl 1921 by Ticenfy-Jivc Bt-oadicay Corp. 



SEBASTIAN CABOT SETTING OUT FROM ENGLAND TO CROSS THE ATLANTIC 







X tji- 






JOHN WHITE S MAP OF VIRGINIA 

This map made by John White, Governor of Sir Walter Raleigh's second colony 
on Roanoke Island, is the first known map of the Virginia coast. The original 
made in 1585, is now in the British Museum. 



PERILOUS BEGINNINGS 23 

the home-land. Yet Elizabeth was willing to let 
her people go. 

The reason was a queer one. It lay in the one 
word — Sheep ! 

During the fourteenth century, the wool trade 
of England had grown enormous. One of the 
causes of this was the closing of the trade routes 
to the Orient. English wool rose to a high price. 

The lords and owners of vast estates found 
that they could make more money by rais- 
ing sheep than by renting their land to tenant 
farmers. 

This caused enormous suffering. A stretch 
of land large enough to pasture a good-sized flock 
of sheep would provide employment only for one 
or two shepherds, whereas, if it were used for 
growing grain, it would support fifteen or twenty 
families. 

The sheep industry, therefore, threw thousands 
of farmers out of work, since the lords would no 
longer rent the land to them. As early as 1516, 
Sir Thomas More described the situation in the 
following striking words: 

^^Your sheep, that were wont to be so meek and 
tame . . . consume, destroy and devour whole 
fields, houses and cities. . . . Noblemen and gen- 
tlemen, yea, and certain abbots . . . leave no 
ground for tillage. They enclose all into pastures. 
They throw down houses, they pluck down towns 
and leave nothing standing but only the church 
to be made a sheep-house. . . . Those who for- 



24 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

merly lived on the land are left starving and 
homeless. And, where many laborers had existed 
by field labor, only a single shepherd or herdsman 
is occupied/* 

Wlien Vasco da Gama opened the route to the 
Orient by the Cape of Good Hope, the traffic in 
silks and cottons was resumed. The demand for 
wool decreased. England had an overproduction 
of wool. Prices dropped. During Elizabeth's 
reign, the finding of foreign markets for the wool 
had become a difficult problem. 

This worked in two ways for the colonization 
of America. It left farmers and farm laborers 
ready for emigration and it opened the possibility 
that a new colony might provide an outlet for 
EngUsh wool. 

Hakluyt, whose word had power, in his ** Dis- 
course on Western Planting, ' ' wrote : 

**Now, if Her Majesty take these western dis- 
coveries in hand, and plant there, it is like that, 
in a short time, we shall vente (sell) as great a 
mass of cloth in those parts as ever we did in 
the Netherlands, and in time, as much more.'' 

This discourse of Hakluyt 's was sent to Raleigh 
a month before the return of Amadas and Bar- 
lowe. It was duly read by the Queen. When the 
captains returned with their glowing account of 
** Virginia," the royal virgin was ready to support 
and to aid Raleigh in his projects. A new hour 
had struck for America. 



CHAPTER n 

THE TRAGEDY OF ROANOKE 

The planting of Virginia was begun with royal 
acclaim. It was endorsed by Queen Elizabeth and 
was partly financed out of the Treasury. This 
appears in an official letter to Ralph Lane, who 
was ordered to take charge of the colonists on 
**the Voyage to Virginia, for Sir Walter Raleigh, 
at Her Majesty's commandment.*' 

The Lane colonists sailed in April, 1585, under 
a strong convoy, with Sir Richard Grenville as 
fleet commander. They entered Pamlico Sound 
two months later and the friendly Indians at once 
boarded the ships. 

One of the visitors stole a silver cup, and Gren- 
ville set fire to the standing com *Ho teach the 
savages a lesson.'' This foolish action taught 
the redskins a lesson, but a most unhappy one ; it 
taught them to look on the English as their 
enemies. Grenville 's silver cup was to cost Eng- 
land hundreds of lives. 

After some weeks spent in exploring the Sound, 
Lane and the 107 colonists were set ashore on 
Roanoke Island. Provisions for eight months 
were left. Manteo and Wanchese, the two In- 

25 



26 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

dians who had visited Elngland, remained with 
Lane as interpreters. Of these two, Manteo 
remained faithful to his English friends, while 
Wanchese returned to his own people and became 
a trouble-maker. 

Raleigh had shown great wisdom in choosing 
Lane as a leader. In spite of Grenville's ill- 
judged act, the head of the Eoanoke colony man- 
aged to keep the peace. This was due to the in- 
fluence of three of the natives: Granganimeo, 
brother of Chief Wingina (later called Pemisa- 
pan) ; Ensenore, father of Wingina and the head 
chief of a group of tribes ; and Manteo, the inter- 
preter. Unhappily for the colonists, Granganimeo 
died soon after the landing. 

Eelying mainly on the friendship of the power- 
ful Chief Ensenore to protect the Roanoke Island 
base, Lane explored the country in every direc- 
tion. He concluded that Roanoke was ill-suited 
for a permanent settlement and urged a speedy 
removal to Chesapeake Bay. Later events were 
to prove how fatally right were his fears. 

During his absence, the colonists had several 
sharp skirmishes with Indians of neighboring 
tribes, but flint-pointed arrows struck harmlessly 
upon armor, and even the dreaded tomahawk was 
unavailing on a steel helmet. False reports of 
Lane's death reached the ears of Chief Wingina 
or Pemisapan, and Wanchese was actually en- 
gaged on the plans for a massacre when Lane 
returned, safe and sound. 



THE TRAGEDY OF ROANOKE 27 

The situation began to grow desperate. The 
eight months' provisions were exhausted. The 
end of March arrived, but Grenville and his ships 
did not. With great diplomacy, Lane used his 
influence with Chief Ensenore, the aged father of 
Pemisapan, to conclude a treaty mth the Indians. 
Food was to be provided until the arrival of the 
relief expedition, when all was to be repaid. Had 
this treaty been carried out, all would have been 
well, but Chief Ensenore died, less than a week 
after it was made. 

Ensenore 's death left the English without a 
single voice in their favor in the councils of the 
Indians. Hostility became open. Pemisapan for- 
bade any of his people to sell food to the colo- 
nists. April passed without any sign of Grenville 
and hunger became acute in the English camp. 

Lane reduced his force on Roanoke to the small- 
est number of men that could hold it and sent the 
rest of the colonists to the wooded sand-spit on 
the ocean side of Pamlico Sound, on an island 
called Hatorask (Hatteras). The island was 
wider and more fertile in Lane's time than it is 
now, but it is still famous for its wild grapes, its 
fish, turtles, crabs and shell-fish. The colonists 
waited and watched there all the month of May, 
but the relief ships did not arrive. 

Suddenly, on June 1, there appeared off the 
coast a superb fleet of twenty-three vessels, under 
the command of Sir Francis Drake. 

Shortly after Grenville and Lane had left Eng- 



28 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

land, the year before, war had been declared with 
Spain. Drake had promptly set off to harry the 
West Indies. Before returning to England, well 
stored with plunder and provisions, it occurred 
to the famous commander to anchor off Virginia 
and to find out whether the Enghsh colonists 
on Roanoke Island were in need. 

Learning that Grenville had not arrived and 
that Lane's men were starving, Drake agreed to 
leave a ship and an ample supply of provisions. 
But, before this ship could enter the haven, a ter- 
rible storm arose and she was blown out to sea. 

Drake thereupon offered another vessel, but he 
was too prudent a seaman to take the responsi- 
bility of bringing her through the terribly nar- 
row and tide-ripped inlets into the Sound. She 
must lie in the open roadstead, near the Diamond 
Shoals, known as **the graveyard of the sea,'' or 
else the colonists must pilot the vessel in them- 
selves. 

Lane took counsel with the colonists. Gren- 
ville had not come and the war with Spain might 
prevent any supplies reaching them at all. As for 
the relief ship, if the great Drake did not dare to 
navigate the strait, who were they, to try? Their 
friends Granganimeo and Ensenore were dead. 
Pemisapan was known to be hostile. Further, 
every Englishman might be needed in the defense 
of the home-land. The colonists decided to ask 
Drake to take them aboard the vessels of his fleet, 
and sailed for home. 



THE TRAGEDY OF ROANOKE 29 

So ended the first colonization of ** Virginia." 

Lane's judgment was sound, but his fear that 
Raleigh would not be able to aid them was in er- 
ror. A supply ship sent at Sir Walter's expense 
reached Hatorask a few days after the colonists 
had left on Drake's fleet. The captain of this 
vessel spent a couple of weeks looking for the set- 
tlers. Not finding any white man on Roanoke 
Island or in the vicinity, he returned to England. 

Fifteen days after the homeward departure of 
Raleigh 's supply ship, Grenville appeared at Hat- 
orask with three vessels. Failing to find Ra- 
leigh's ship, he sent armed boats to Roanoke 
Island. The places where the colonists had lived 
were discovered abandoned and desolate. 

Determining, at least, to hold possession for 
England and knowing nothing of Pemisapan's hos- 
tility, Grenville left fifteen of his sturdiest men 
with instructions to hold the island at all haz- 
ards. This settlement was made early in Au- 
gust, 1586. Abundant ammunition was landed, 
the fort was strengthened and enough provisions 
were put ashore to last for more than two years. 

The year following, a rescue expedition learned 
the fate of these fifteen men. While four of them 
were away, gathering oysters, the Indians ap- 
peared under the leadership of Pemisapan, and 
Wanchese falsely offered friendship. Since Lane 
had left no word of warning and Wanchese spoke 
in English, the little garrison agreed to a parley. 

Two of the leaders went out of the fort to meet 



30 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

the Indians. The savages treacherously slew one 
and wounded the other. Simultaneously a war- 
party set fire to the fort. 

Driven into the open, the English fought their 
way to the shore, losing two more of their num- 
ber. Only eight men reached the boat. Eowing 
to the oyster creek, they rescued their comrades 
and crossed the Sound ^*to an island to the right 
of the entrance to the harbor of Hatorask.'' 
They were never heard of more. 

Thus ended, in blood, the second English set- 
tlement of ** Virginia.'' 

Meanwhile, Drake and Lane had reached Eng- 
land, and Raleigh and Grenville learned why 
Eoanoke had been abandoned. A gallant little 
band of fifteen Englishmen remained alone on 
that distant shore. With the Spanish War rag- 
ing, neither Grenville, Lane nor Ealeigh could be 
spared. In order to support these fifteen ma- 
rooned men Ealeigh granted to ** John White and 
others'' certain patents for planting a colony in 
Virginia. White 's title was * * Governor of the City 
of Ealeigh in Virginia, ' ' and his patent was dated 
January 7, 1587. 

White had been the map-maker of the Lane ex- 
pedition, and had shown himself to be a natural 
leader. On several occasions he had been put in 
charge of exploring parties. Lane chose him for 
his successor, giving him exact instructions as 
to the plans to be carried out. 

He was to sail as soon as possible with 150 colo- 




CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH 



Though Smith s name is chiefly associated with the Virginia colonies he was one of 
known°'. M^ThT/- °- •''' ^^.''•^ explorers. He thoroughly explored what was then 
known as North Virginia and gave the name of New England to the territory but 
his popular fame largely through the romantic Pocahontas legend, is mo?eintTmate"y 
associated with the scene of his earliest exploits, the James River Colony His 
ZZdfl , ?,?H '^^' ho^f^e'-' was not romantic, for his sound common sense, his 
Indurfng example.' ^""^ diplomatic handling of current affairs left an 







THE FLEET OF SIR FRANCIS DRAKE LYING OFF THE COAST OF FLORIDA 

Shortly after the first colonial venture under Lane and Grenvllle left England, war 

^nr\ ?r w A' i-^P'^'^r; ^'' ^''■^"^^^ ^''^^^ ^'^« «^"t to harry the Spanish Main 
and the West Indies. On his return to England he decided to visit the Virginia 
colony and see if all was well. He raided St. Augustine as is here shown in an old 
map on his way north from the West Indies. 



•■/=ST?^;^*-«9^'^- X5SJ!£%^S 




INDIANS COOKING FISH 

The English colonists were much amazed at the great variety of fish which they 
found in the shallow waters of the Sounds along the Virginia coast. The Indians 
were expert fishermen and made great use of fish for food, showing the colonists how 
to catch and prepare thera for the table. This picture is one of the manv drawings 
by Governor John White of the Second Colony, which are now preserved in the 
British Museum. 







~^] 

















SMITH S MAP OF VIRGINIA 

When this map was made the colony was commonly spoken of as the Paradise of 
Virginia. The early map makers always gave a pictorial aspect to their maps to 
rnake the vision of the country mapped as graphic as possible. In this map there is 
little suggestion of the low lying fiat country along the coast, rather a pleasant sug- 
gestion of hills and forests. The Colonists of the several early ventures found the 
shore regions to be gloomy, pest-ridden, tide-water swamps They never really reached 
the wooded and hilly regions away from the coast. 



THE TRAGEDY OF ROANOKE 31 

nists — men, women and children — and to settle at 
Chesapeake Bay, first picking up the fifteen men 
who had been left by Grenville at Roanoke Island. 
By that means, the new colony would escape the 
hostility of Pemisapan, and could make an al- 
liance with the tribes in the new settlement. 

During war-time, however, it was easier to or- 
der an immediate sailing than it was to accom- 
plish it. Every ship-captain was needed for the 
defense of the English coast. The Lion, a Fly- 
Boat, and a pinnace were found at last, but Ra- 
leigh was compelled — much against his will — to 
give the command of the little fleet to Fernandino, 
a renegade Spaniard. The three ships sailed from 
Plymouth on May 8, 1587. 

From the very start, Fernandino 's treachery 
showed itself. On May 16, to quote the words of 
White, * ^ Fernandino lewdly forsook our Fly-Boat, 
leaving her distressed in the Bay of Portugal." 
The Lion and the pinnace continued. 

They touched at Dominica on June 19 and spent 
three weeks in the West Indies, supposedly to se- 
cure food supplies, young fruit trees and seeds for 
planting, and cattle for the beginning of herds. 
Fernandino continuously prevented White from 
getting these, declaring that he had a friend in 
Hispaniola who could provide all. But, when the 
ships arrived off Hispaniola, Fernandino found 
an excuse for not landing and turned northwards, 
thus denying to the expedition the supplies which 
Raleigh had advised them to take. 



32 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

They reached Hatorask on July 22. Feman- 
dino refused to try and enter the narrow chan- 
nel with the Lion. The pinnace was sent into 
Pamlico Sound to take the colonists ashore, with 
secret orders not to bring back any of its passen- 
gers, no matter what conditions might be discov- 
ered at Roanoke. 

They were bad enough ! White found no signs 
of Hf e, nothing but the skeleton of the white man 
who had been slain by treachery when in a parley 
with Pemisapan and Wanchese. 

Three days later — to the great delight of the 
colonists and the discomfiture of Femandino — the 
Fly-Boat arrived, having made her way across 
the ocean, alone. White prepared to move to 
Chesapeake Bay, according to the orders given 
him by Ealeigh and Lane. Them Femandino 
openly showed his hatred of the English. He 
flatly refused to proceed on the voyage and sailed 
away, leaving the colonists — now reduced to 99 
whites and 2 friendly Indians — on ill-fated Roa- 
noke Island. 

Shortly after landing, Manteo, who had been 
true to the English throughout, was baptized a 
Christian. Then, following instructions contained 
in sealed orders, which ^\^ite opened upon land- 
ing, the faithful Indian was officially proclaimed 
as *^Lord of Roanoke.'' 

A few days later, on August 18, Eleanor Dare, 
daughter of Governor White and wife of Assistant 
Governor Dare, gave birth to a daughter. Be- 



THE TRAGEDY OF ROANOKE 33 

cause she was the first white child bom in Vir- 
ginia, the baby was christened ** Virginia, ' ' the 
Sunday following. 

Virginia Dare was not the first white child born 
in North America, as is often stated, nor yet the 
first Christian. That honor belongs to Snorri 
Thorfinnsson, the son of Gudrid the Fair. Nor 
was she the first white girl bom in North America, 
for the infant daughter of Marguerite Roberval 
preceded her. But she was unquestionably the 
first white girl born in the present territory of the 
United States. 

Since Fernandino had refused to carry out 
the orders he had received, it was imperative to 
send word back to England to tell that the colon- 
ists were at Roanoke, not at Chesapeake Bay, and 
to ensure the sending of supplies. 

On the urgent desire of every settler. Governor 
White agreed to go, though he protested bitterly. 

White boarded the Fly-Boat on August 27. At 
the very moment of weighing anchor, a terrible 
accident occurred. One of the bars of the capstan 
broke. The sudden jar, added to the weight of 
the anchor, whirled the capstan round with such 
force that the other bars spun like gigantic flails, 
seriously injuring several men of the already 
scanty crew. A second attempt, with fewer men, 
was little less disastrous. There were not enough 
hands, now, to raise the anchor. The Fly-Boat set 
out to sea with only five uninjured men on board 
and without an anchor. 



34 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Two of the sailors died at sea from their in- 
juries. Three others were not able to leave their 
bunks during the entire voyage. The Fly-Boat 
encountered a heavy gale, dead against her, and 
the short-handed crew could do but little. She 
was driven back. Provision^ and fresh water 
grew scarce. Scurvy broke out, greatly weaken- 
ing the remaining men. 

After thirty days' tossing, the Fly-Boat reached 
the west coast of Ireland. There she found her- 
self in a desperate position, for she had no anchor. 
She entered the small harbor of Dingen and sailed 
to and fro in the narrow space, signaling franti- 
cally for help. A ship sent off a skiff and learned 
of the Fly-Boat's need. A spare anchor was 
hastily sent aboard, and the much-mauled vessel 
rode at last at rest. 

But the haven came too late for some. Three 
men died aboard the Fly-Boat as she lay in har- 
bor; three more were carried ashore, too ill to 
move. It was November 8 before Governor White 
arrived at Southampton, having taken passage on 
a ship from Dingen. 

The following spring, all England was ringing 
with preparations to fight the Spanish Armada. 
Every ship-yard was busy. Every boat that could 
float was being patched up. There were no ships 
to be spared for the relief of the colonists of Roa- 
noke Island. Yet Ealeigh's influence was so 
powerful that he mustered a small fleet and put 
it in charge of Grenville. It was not allowed to 



THE TRAGEDY OF ROANOKE 35 

sail. The Lord High Admiral protested, declaring 
he needed every ship and every man he could get, 
whereupon the relief -vessels were seized for the 
navy. 

Raleigh had a determined streak in him, and 
Governor White did not miss a single day in 
pleading the cause of the colonists. He spoke 
bluntly enough to the Queen about it, and Eliza- 
beth, who did not object to plain speaking, prom- 
ised her aid. Two small vessels were procured 
and sailed from England on April 22, 1588, under 
command of White. But the heavy hand of ill- 
fortune dogged the steps of the Roanoke rescuers. 
Off Madeira they encountered some Spanish men- 
o'-war and were so severely handled as to be 
lucky to return, with their sails full of shot-holes 
and several of the sailors dead. 

It was the last chance that year. The Armada 
was gathering. 

The year 1589 brought no relief to Roanoke. 
The Armada had been repelled but it was far from 
being a final victory. England was fighting for 
her life and she knew it. Elizabeth had no ships 
to spare for a handful of colonists. They must 
take their chance. 

Raleigh would not give up. White haunted the 
door of every man who might possibly give help. 
In desperation another patent was given out, this 
time to a company of London merchants, among 
them Thomas Smythe. Hakluyt was a member of 
the company. Money did not succeed, either. 



36 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

The ships were not to be had. Winter came again, 
with no relief for Roanoke. 

Early in the spring of 1590, Raleigh renewed 
his exertions. Three vessels, the Hopewell, the 
John Evangelist and the Little John, belonging to 
a London merchant, were about to start to the 
West Indies on a privateering venture. Raleigh 
secured the Queen's consent to compel these ships 
to take colonists and supphes to Virginia, and 
sent a courier to White with the message. 

The order was given too late. It arrived in 
Plymouth only the day before siailing. As it 
would take some time to gather the colonists, the 
owner and captains refused to honor White's or- 
der. They said, curtly, that they would take him 
and his sea-chest aboard and nothing more. 

There were no telegraphs in those days. There 
was no time for White to communicate with Ra- 
leigh, who was in London, no means to reach the 
Queen. If he wished to see Virginia again, this 
seemed his only chance. Desperate and heartsick, 
he boarded one of the ships, and sailed away. 

The captains, however, had their orders. Pri- 
vateering was the work they were paid to do, and, 
besides, each of them had a share in the venture. 
The Roanoke question might wait till afterwards. 
As White wrote, in agony of spirit: **The cap- 
tains regarded very little the good of their coun- 
trymen in Virginia . . . and wholly disposed 
themselves to seek after purchase and spoils, 



THE TRAGEDY OF ROANOKE 37 

spending so mnch time thereon, that summer was 
spent before we arrived at Virginia/' 

It was not until five months later, on August 
15, that they dropped anchor off Hatorask. Next 
day they launched two small boats to enter the 
inlet, but the sea was rough and the tide run- 
ning high. The inlets of Pamlico Sound are dan- 
gerous always, but death-traps in heavy weather. 
One boat got through, but the other boat was 
swamped, the captain and six men being drowned. 

The remaining boat sailed up to Roanoke. 

No sign of the colony remained but some heavy 
cannon, a few bars of iron and pigs of lead, all 
overgrown with grass and weeds. There were 
no traces of life. Yet, on one of the largest trees 
near the site of the fort, the bark had been re- 
moved and the word * ^ Croatoan ' ' had been carved 
in the wood. Since the word was unaccompanied 
by a cross, which had been agreed upon as the 
sign of distress. White was joyfully confident of 
finding the colonists safe and sound on Croatoan, 
now Okracoke Island. 

The boat returned to the ship, almost being 
swamped as it passed through the inlet. The 
night was wild and stormy. The ships dragged 
their anchors and were in utmost peril. Despite 
the foul weather, however, the captain of the 
Hopewell agreed to do the utmost that seaman- 
ship could devise to get to Croatoan. 

But the Hatteras coast is a raging terror in a 
rough sea. In weighing anchor, the cable of the 



38 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Hopewell broke, causing the loss of the anchor. 
The ship was hurled in toward the shore. Another 
anchor was dropped, to save instant wreck. It 
dragged, at once. There were but seconds, not 
even minutes, to spare. The cable was slipped, los- 
ing a second anchor, some sail being spread simul- 
taneously. Extraordinary seamanship and good 
luck brought the craft into a channel almost at 
the very jaws of the surf and she beat out to sea 
with but a few fathoms to spare. 

With but one anchor remaining, scant provisions 
and less water, the Hopewell could not risk the 
danger of trying to beat back to Croatoan. It 
was decided to run to the West Indies for supplies 
and for the needed anchors, before making an- 
other try for rescue. 

It was not to be. The following night a heavy 
gale from the west arose. The battered Hopewell 
tried to hold her southward course, in vain. 
There was nothing to do but to run before the 
gale with shortened canvas. She was more than 
halfway to England before the violence of the 
storm abated, and, by that time, was almost out 
of food and water, was leaking badly and it 
was all her captain could do to reach an English 
harbor. 

White reached England on October 24, after 
more than seven months at sea. He had been 
within a few miles of rescue, but had returned 
in failure. Never did the colonists at Croatoan 
know how near help had been. Never did Gov- 



THE TRAGEDY OF ROANOKE 39 

emor White see again the settlers of Roanoke 
Island, never did he hear a word as to the fate of 
his infant granddaughter, Virginia Dare. 

Many years after, when an English settlement 
had been established at Jamestown, it was indi- 
rectly learned from the Indians that there had 
been fighting at Roanoke. Many of the colonists 
had been slain, but some had escaped to Croatoan, 
where was the tribe to which Manteo belonged, and 
there had lived in peace and friendship with the 
Indians. But for the storm that struck the Hope- 
well, Governor White could have rescued them. 

There are many traditions as to the fate of Vir- 
ginia Dare, but they are httle more than conjec- 
tures. In one story, she became the wife of a colo- 
nist, in another she wedded an Indian chief, in a 
third, she died in infancy. There are still living, 
in the Carolinas, families who claim an indirect 
descent, but no proof is forthcoming. 

Whether the Croatoan settlers were massacred, 
later, or whether they intermarried with the In- 
dians and were absorbed is absolutely unknown. 
One thing only is sure, that, as an English plant- 
ing, the Roanoke Colony disappeared completely. 

Thus, in mystery and silence, ended the third 
settlement of Virginia. 

Several quests were made for White's lost 
colony, especially those of Mace in 1602 and 
Bartholomew Gilbert in 1603, but all in vain. The 
tragedy of Roanoke still holds its secret, and the 



40 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

sad page of the ending of that gallant effort is 
further saddened by the unknown fate of the first 
white girl born in United States territory— Vir- 
ginia Dare. 



CHAPTER III 

JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS 

Less than twenty years elapsed between the ex- 
tinction of the Eoanoke Colony and the establish- 
ment of the James Colony, yet these twenty years 
marked the passage from one Age into another. 
The Roanoke Colony died at the end of the Tudor 
d3niasty, which had been medieval; the James 
Colony was bom at the beginning of the Stuart 
dynasty, which led f onvard to modern times. The 
reign of Elizabeth was the bridge between. 

Two principal causes brought about this change, 
in so far as they affected America. The first was 
the doAvnfall of Spanish sea-power, the second 
was the death of Queen Elizabeth. 

Spanish sea-power fell because the English had 
been the first to modernize their ships. They cut 
off the high fore-castles and poop-castles, double- 
decked the waists, and heavily ballasted their 
smaller vessels. This enabled them to carry a 
larger sail area and to sail closer to the wind. 

An English craft, thus modernized, could at 
any time work to windward of a Spanish vessel. 
This gave it the supreme advantage of the weather 
gauge, more than doubling its fighting efficiency. 

41 



42 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

It could outsail a Spanish galleon almost two to 
one, and hence could hit and run away when fac- 
ing odds ; the Spanish had to remain passive and 
be shot at. Further, while the Dons had the ad- 
vantage of heavier guns, the English guns were 
more easily handled, and, in wooden ships, it was 
the number of shots that told rather than the 
weight of metal. 

Yet the power of Spain upon the seas was not 
decided in one battle. The ''Invincible'' Armada 
was not defeated. It was repulsed. It was pri- 
marily a transport fleet of 132 vessels, carrying 
21,261 soldiers and 8066 sailors. Its main pur- 
pose was to join forces with a huge Spanish army 
waiting in Holland, and to land an invading host 
on England's shores. Naval action was to be 
merely incidental. 

The English fleet consisted of 189 vessels, 
mostly small, with a total fighting strength of 
1700 men. It did not carry any soldiers, in the 
strict sense of the word. Its purpose was not to 
annihilate the Armada, but to prevent Spanish 
troops from landing. It was a defensive force, 
only. Naval action was its only aim. 

As such, the English navy scored a complete 
success. The Spanish did not land. Moreover, 
the tiny craft, by skilKul seamanship, greater 
speed and ease of handling and superior gunnery. 
peppered the cumbrous vessels of their foes so 
thoroughly as to minimize the fear of a second 
attempt at invasion. 



JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS 43 

Yet when the Armada sailed up the English 
Channel in July 1588, and even on that night at 
Gravelines when English fire-ships sent a panic 
into the Spanish fleet, the power of Spain received 
no more than a check. Though a storm wrecked 
nineteen galleons on the coasts of Scotland and 
Ireland, the loss of men was but small when com- 
pared with the hosts which Spain could summon. 
The safe arrival of a single treasure-fleet from 
Mexico or Peru would repay for all the lost ves- 
sels. 

Elizabeth and her great sea-captains were well 
aware of this. Spain was rebuffed, not defeated. 
The danger remained. Hence neither ships, men 
nor supplies could be spared for Roanoke and no 
relief expedition was sent for ten years. 

Much more damaging to Spain was the loss she 
suffered through English privateers. Her treas- 
ure-fleets, her merchant vessels and her colonial 
settlements were continually harassed by such ter- 
rors of the sea as Hawkins, Brake and Christopher 
Newport. Swarms of death-dealing maritime hor- 
nets poured out from every English port. In the 
ten years following the onset of the Armada, pri- 
vateers had seized or sunk more than eight hun- 
dred Spanish vessels of the larger sort. By this 
means, the menace of Spain on the North Atlantic 
Ocean was removed, and the way to America was 
opened. 

The death of Queen Elizabeth was little less 
important. It allowed the English people to press 



44 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

a score of democratic measures, which had been 
long desired. This willingness to wait was partly 
because the people loved their aged — though auto- 
cratic — monarch, but it was even more because 
they knew she was not immortal. 

Had Elizabeth been followed on the throne by 
a masterful king of Tudor stock, trouble might 
have come, for the English people were abso- 
lutely set on change. But James I, the first of 
the Stuarts, had neither the personal character 
nor the royal prestige to check the reforms which 
followed his accession. 

Great changes had taken place in England since 
mid-Elizabethan times. Spanish gold had poured 
into the country, through the hands of the priva- 
teers. Commerce was becoming important. Spec- 
ulation ran high. These changes caused the es- 
tablishment of the James Colony on an utterly 
different basis from that of the Colony of 
Eoanoke. 

The Elizabethan period was an age of high ad- 
venture, that of James I was an age of trade. 
Elizabeth was willing to make war, if necessary; 
James I was for peace at any price. While the 
Tudor Queen upheld the feudal principle, she in- 
sisted that her lords should care for the poor on 
their estates; the Stuart King favored the rich 
merchants, and cared not a whit that the poor 
grew poorer. 

Colonists under Elizabeth sought to extend the 
power of a beloved home-land ; under the Stuarts, 



JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS 45 

they sought to escape from it. Roanoke was a 
court adventure; James Eiver was a commercial 
venture. The Raleigh Charter was a queen's 
gift to a personal favorite; the Charter of 1606 
was a colonization plan put into the hands of trad- 
ing companies. 

One of the first-fruits of the death of Queen 
Elizabeth was the making of peace with Spain. 
This unlocked the coffers of Capital, always held 
tightly in a time of war. The ships which had 
been built by scores, even by hundreds, for de- 
fense and privateering, now were available for 
trading ventures. Money was plentiful. Eng- 
land took a share in the rich trade to the East 
Indies. Small merchants became great bankers 
and were ever on the watch for new investments. 

Not only was there the money, there were the 
men, too. A whole generation of rovers, nobles 
and commoners, bred to sea-adventure, now looked 
for a new outlet for their energies. They found 
it in such enterprises as the East India Company, 
the Muscovy Company, and the Two Companies 
of Virginia. 

Raleigh was no longer a factor. He had been 
imprisoned by James I for his ascribed opposition 
to the accession of the Stuart King, and, after 
the accession, for his attack on the King's policy 
of a peace with Spain. His imprisonment canceled 
the astounding charter in which Queen Elizabeth 
had granted to one man the possession of the en- 



46 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

tire American shore, from Florida to Newfound- 
land. 

The once great courtier was found guilty of 
treason and condemned to death in 1603, but the 
execution was delayed and he remained a pris- 
oned in the Tower of London until 1616. Re- 
leased on his declaration that he knew where to 
find a gold mine in Guiana, Raleigh set sail for 
the Orinoco in 1617. The treasure-hunt was a 
disastrous failure, the captain of the fleet — a per- 
sonal friend of James I was driven into suicide. 
The expedition broke up in mutiny. On the re- 
turn of the gold-seekers Raleigh was promptly 
rearrested and was executed in 1618 under the 
sentence of death given fifteen years before. 

The canceling of Raleigh's Charter canceled 
also all the grants given under it. The gift had 
come from the Crown and it returned to the 
Crown. All the American coast, from Florida 
northwards, was in the hands of the King to be- 
stow as he pleased. 

Though James I made many astounding blun- 
ders, ever and anon there shone gleams of an 
astute policy. His plans for colonization were far 
more prudent and wise than those of Elizabeth. He 
was judicious enough to adopt the ideas developed 
by Dutch and English merchants in the forma- 
tion of the East India Company in 1600. More- 
over, while under the thumb of Spain in some mat- 
ters, he calmly defied Philip III when that mon- 
arch tried to interfere in the Virginia enterprise. 




THE DEATH OF QUEEN ELIZABETH 

The first three attempts to found colonies in Virginia all ended in disaster and though 
nearly twenty years elapsed before the founding of the first successful colony on 
James River, those twenty years marked the transition from one age of European 
history, the medieval, to the dawn of the modern; a period represented by the reign 
of Elizabeth and closed by her dramatic death. 





SIR WALTER RALEIGH A PRISONER IN THE TOWER 

Raleigh, who had so much to do v/ith the first colonizing expeditions to Virginia 
during the life of Queen Elizabeth, was imprisoned after her death, for political 
reasons, and did not share in the later and successful colonial ventures. 



JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS 47 

As this defiance determined whether North 
America should be settled by the English or the 
Spaniards, the facts in the case are important. 

The Treaty of London, bringing peace between 
England and Spain, was signed in 1605. During 
discussion of its terms, the Spanish envoys in- 
sisted that the treaty should contain a clause for- 
bidding Englishmen to go to * ^ the Indies. ' ' Such 
a vague geographical term might mean anything. 
The English envoys refused, unless a qualifying 
clause should also be inserted giving England the 
right to settle the unoccupied portions of the New 
"World. Neither side would yield, and the Treaty 
was ratified without any reference whatever to the 
disputed question. 

Meanwhile, three important exploring voyages 
had been made to America. These were the voy- 
ages of Gosnold and Bartholomew Gilbert (son 
of Sir Humphrey) to Maine, in 1602 ; that of Pring 
to Maine and Massachusetts, in 1603; and that 
of Wajonouth to Maine, in 1605. This part of 
America was then known as *^ North Virginia.'' 
All these captains brought encouraging reports, 
renewing English interest in American coloniza- 
tion. 

Since the Treaty of London contained no clause 
forbidding English settlement in Virginia, two 
groups of merchants began to form colonization 
projects. One group had its center in London; 
the other, in Plymouth. The London group, with 
Hakluyt as a leading spirit, was interested in 



48 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

** Virginia''; the Plymouth group, with Sir John 
Popham as its chief, laid its plans to settle * * North 
Virginia. ' ' 

In the spring of 1606, Spain took alarm. The 
Spanish Ambassador went to Sir John Popham 
and made a vigorous protest, declaring that these 
preparations were a tacit violation of the Treaty 
of London. Popham gave an evasive answer, 
which bordered closely upon falsehood. 

A month later, despite Popham 's denial, James 
I granted the First Virginia Charter, under date 
of April 10, 1606. The King boldly ignored all 
Spanish claims. He conveyed to the London Com- 
pany all the shore between 34° and 38° (approxi- 
mately from Cape Hatteras to the present Mary- 
land-Delaware border), and to the Plymouth Com- 
pany, all the shore from 41° to 45° (approximately 
from the mouth of the Hudson to the present 
Canadian border). The Delaware and New Jer- 
sey section was a sort of No-Man 's-Land, granted 
to both colonies, the privileges being accorded to 
that Company which should be the first to plant 
a colony therein. 

This Charter continued the liberties granted to 
colonists by Ealeigh's Charter. It gave them the 
same rights as Englishmen living in England and 
bom in England. This was a root-principle of 
English colonization and was a cause of its suc- 
cess. 

In spite of the declaration of liberty, the colo- 
nies were not self-governing. The supreme power 



JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS 49 

lay in a Royal Council of Virginia, appointed by 
the King. Each Company was to have a colonial 
council, self-appointed and self -continuing. Each 
colony (or plantation) was to have a smaller coun- 
cil of its own. But there was no provision for 
popular elections and no means whereby the colo- 
nists could control their councils. This was a 
prime cause of discontent. 

The land was to be held by an ancient system 
known as ** socage. *' This meant that each set- 
tler was the sole owner of his property, on the con- 
dition of a certain amount of work done for the 
colony. This plan had its good points and its bad 
ones. Its strength lay in the fact that it provided 
independence and upheld the rights of private 
property. Its weakness was that the work de- 
manded was decided by the colonial council, un- 
der orders from the Company, This power of 
enforcing too much communal work wrecked the 
colony. 

Such was the territory, such were the times and 
such were the conditions under which the first 
permanent English colony was set up on Ameri- 
can shores. How nearly it came to naught, by 
how narrow a margin it escaped a duplication 
of the Roanoke tragedy is the story now to be told. 

The London Company led the way, and hence 
<< Virginia*' was the desired goal. On December 
20, 1606, three ships set sail from London, under 
the command of Captain Christopher Newport. 
The Sarah Constant was the flagship. Her con- 



50 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

sorts were the Goodspeed, under Captain Bar- 
tholomew Gosnold, and the Discovery, under Cap- 
tain John Eatcliffe. Among other important men 
were Edward Maria Wingfield, the first presi- 
dent; George Percy, brother of the Earl of 
Northumberland ; George Kendall, a cousin of Sir 
Edwin Sandys; Captain John Smith, rover and 
gentleman adventurer ; and Rev. Eobert Hunt, the 
chaplain. The emigrants numbered 120 men; 
there were no women nor children in the party. 
Their destination was Chesapeake Bay, which, 
thirty years before. Lane had suggested as a suit- 
able site for a colony. 

Though Gosnold had sailed by the direct route 
from England to Cape Cod, in 1602, and had taken 
but fifty days for the passage, he could not per- 
suade Newport to do so. The fleet commander 
followed the traditional route by way of the Can- 
ary Islands and the West Indies, and hence did 
not sight Virginia until one hundred and twenty- 
seven days had elapsed. This four months' voy- 
age consumed most of the provisions which would 
be needed after the settlers landed. 

To add to the troubles of the journey. Wing- 
field and John Smith became enemies, and Smith, 
who had a rough tongue, attacked the President 
of the party in terms which were more striking 
than polite. He was charged with mutiny and 
was kept in irons all the way from Dominica to 
Virginia. 

The expedition entered Chesapeake Bay on May 



JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS 51 

6, 1607, naming Cape Henry and Cape Charles 
after the then Prince of Wales and his younger 
brother. Skirting the shore they passed a point 
which they named Point Comfort and reached 
Hampton Roads. 

On landing, the sealed instructions from the 
Company were opened. Wingfield was named 
President of the colonial council, with Gosnold, 
Smith, Ratcliffe, Martin and Kendall as council- 
ors. Wingfield refused to allow Smith to take 
the oath of office as councillor but he set him at 
liberty. It was well that he did so, for Captain 
John Smith was "destined to become the sole savior 
of the colony. 

No more romantic figure than Smith ever 
stepped on American shores. Bom in England 
in the year 1580, he ran away to the wars when 
only fifteen years of age. In France and in the 
Netherlands, though still in his teens, he made his 
mark as a fighting man. After a long campaign 
he returned to England, but a quiet life did not 
suit him. He determined to try his fortune 
against the Turks. 

Riding across France to take ship on the Medi- 
terranean, he was waylaid by highwaymen, robbed 
and wounded. He managed to walk to Marseilles, 
where he embarked with a ship-load of Roman 
Catholic pilgrims on their way to the East. A 
heavy storm arose, and, the pilgrims ascribing 
this tempest to the presence of a heretic in their 
midst, they threw Smith overboard to drown. 



52 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Being a powerful swimmer, the young Eng- 
lishman managed to make his way ashore to a 
small isle, not far away, inhabited only by goats. 
He lived on goat's milk and goat's flesh for a few 
weeks and then was picked up by a passing Breton 
ship. He helped the crew to attack and capture a 
richly laden Venetian galley, and because of the 
extraordinary valor he had shown, received a fat 
share of the plunder. 

Smith went ashore, at the first port the ship 
touched in Italy, and, with plenty of money in 
his pocket, traveled northward in leisurely fash- 
ion, using his remarkable powers of observation 
to the uttermost, especially in all such matters as 
fortification. He was an inveterate reader of 
military treatises, and made it his business to 
meet the chief captains of war, wherever he went. 

Soon after making his way into Hungary, he 
was appointed commander of a troop of horse. 
Not long after, Emperor Rudolph II transferred 
this troop to the service of Prince Sigismund of 
Transylvania, and recommended the young cav- 
alry leader to the prince's special attention. 

There, at last, Smith found his long-sought op- 
portunity of fighting against the Turks and he 
distinguished himself remarkably. Though not 
tall. Smith was thick-set and of astounding physi- 
cal strength. He showed this at the siege of Re- 
gal, which the Transylvanians were attacking with 
scant success, with so little success, indeed, that 
the Turks grew sarcastic at the expense of their 



JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS 53 

enemies and announced that **tliey were growing 
too fat for lack of exercise/' 

One day, a Turkish champion sent a challenge 
to the Transylvanian army. He suggested that 
**in order to delight the ladies, who did long to 
see some court-like pastime, he did defy any cap- 
tain that had command of a company, who durst 
combat with him for his head.'' 

The Christian army accepted the challenge. 
Lots were cast and the lot fell on Smith. 

A truce was proclaimed, tournament-lists built, 
the Turkish ladies lined the walls to see the joust, 
and the Turkish champion and Smith rode at 
each over with leveled lances. Smith killed his 
opponent at the first thrust and cut off the Turk's 
head. 

Humiliated by this defeat, the Turks picked 
their most famous jouster, and, the next day, they 
sent a personal challenge to Smith. The chal- 
lenge was accepted. This time the duel was more 
even. Both lances were shivered. Each of the 
duelists drew pistols, but Smith was both the 
quicker and had the better aim. At the first shot, 
the Turk fell and Smith cut off his head. 

For a couple of weeks there were no further 
challenges from the Turks. Then Smith, answer- 
ing taunt for taunt, challenged *^any Turk of his 
rank" to meet him on the same conditions. This 
gave the Turk the choice of weapons, and battle- 
axes were named. 

Less accustomed to this barbaric weapon. Smith 



54 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

was at a disadvantage. After a few minutes* 
exchange of terrific blows, the Englishman's 
weapon flew out of his hands. With a cry of 
triumph, the Turk whirled his ax to cut down 
his foe. Smith, an accomplished horseman, 
avoided the flashing steel by the merest fraction 
of distance, and, before the turbaned champion 
could recover his poise, the Englishman drew his 
sword and thrust at a vital spot. The Turk fell 
from his horse, and, an instant after, he was be- 
headed. For this deed Smith was knighted by 
Prince Sigismund, and was granted a coat of arms 
with three Turks' heads. 

Good fortune was not always to be on his side. 
In 1602, at the Battle of Rothenthurm, Smith was 
taken prisoner by the Turks and was sold into 
slavery. He was taken to Constantinople, where 
he was bought by Lady Charatza Tragabigzanda. 
For a time, he was held so high in the lady's favor 
that envious tongues wagged. To put an end 
to gossip. Lady Tragabigzanda sent the English 
slave to her brother, who was a Pasha in the coun- 
try of the Cossacks. 

There Smith was treated as harshly as any com- 
mon slave, and he never ceased to watch for an op- 
portunity to escape. One day, the Pasha actually 
struck him. The desperate Englishman, despite 
the iron collar around his neck, dealt his master 
a fatal blow with the flail with which he was 
threshing wheat, dressed himseK in the dead 
man's clothes, mounted the Pasha's horse and 



JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS 55 

galloped off to the Scythian desert. He made his 
way to Russian territory, thence to Poland and 
back to Hungary. He received a letter of safe 
conduct from Prince Sigismund, his former com- 
mander, and reached Germany and France, on 
his way home. 

But the smell of powder attracted him anew to 
Spain and Morocco. There Smith served with 
added distinction, returning to England only a 
few months before the departure of Newport with 
the colonists for Virginia. 

Such a man was a godsend to the Company, 
which, at that time, was seeking men accustomed 
to command and who were sufficiently self-reliant 
to be able to face new conditions. From Smithes 
viewpoint, the attraction of a voyage to Virginia 
was that of finding a new and unexplored coun- 
try, utterly different from any in which he had 
adventured. 

• With such a career behind him, it is not sur- 
prising that Smith should have had but little pa- 
tience with Wingfield, or, for that matter, with 
any of the leaders of the expedition. None of 
them had pioneer experience, none had sustained 
such astounding adventures. Smith considered 
them incompetent for work so stern and difficult 
as he foresaw it would be, and he did not scruple 
to say so. 

Never was a man with blunter speech than 
Smith, and though his rivals rightly complained 
that he had an insufferable opinion of his own 



56 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

prowess, they could not deny that he was able to 
make good every boast he uttered. Very different 
might have been the history of the James River 
Colony, if Smith had been made the leader from 
the very start. 

Among the sealed instructions which were 
opened by Wingfield, on landing, was a paper from 
Hakluyt, giving advice as to the necessary require- 
ments for a site. It should be, he said, some dis- 
tance up a navigable river, protected by a fort at 
the river's mouth; it should be upon high-l}dng 
land, in order to avoid disease; and it should be 
far from a forest which would give shelter to 
enemies. 

In spite of Smith's endorsement of this advice — 
or, perhaps, because of it — ^Wingfield disregarded 
every word. He chose a wooded peninsula with 
a pestilential swamp at the back, and a heavy 
growth of high grass running up to the very fort. 
Its sole advantage was that there was good an- 
chorage for ships and that its peninsular form 
adapted it for military defense. 

After a couple of weeks spent in helping the 
settlers to construct a fort, Newport began the 
exploration of the surrounding country. He asked 
Smith to accompany him. With twenty-four men, 
they sailed up the broad stream, which, in honor 
of the King, they named the James River. They 
reached as high as a little Indian village called 
Powhatan Falls, just above the present site of 
Richmond. The natives were friendly. Newport 



JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS 57 

was of a kindly disposition and Smith possessed 
positive genius in dealing with Indians. 

The local tribal conditions aided the alliance. 
Each tribe, while obeying its own chief, gave al- 
legiance to the head war-chief of the Powhatan 
tribe, the leader in this loose confederacy. The 
principal village of the Powhatans was called 
Werowocomoco and was on the York Eiver, fif- 
teen miles from the newly constructed English 
fort, first known as James Fort and afterwards 
as Jamestown. 

When Newport and Smith returned, they found 
the fort had been attacked by Indians hostile to 
the Powhatan confederacy. The savages had been 
repulsed, but one Englishman had been killed and 
eleven wounded, among the latter being four of 
the five councillors. 

Under Newport 's orders, the fort was strength- 
ened and palisadoed, eight days being spent at the 
work. Newport chafed at the delay, for the wind 
was fair for England. Moreover, so much time 
had passed since the fleet left England that only 
four months' provisions were left. It was very 
doubtful whether a voyage to England and back, 
with more supplies, could be made within that 
time. 

On June 21, Opechancanough, chief of the Pa- 
munkey tribe and brother of Powhatan, sent a 
messenger to the fort to assure the white men of 
his friendship and alliance. This was due to a 
message from Powhatan who had heard favorably 



58 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

of Newport and Smith from Parahunt, chief of 
the sub-tribe at Powhatan Falls. On this evi- 
dence of Indian friendship, Newport's fears were 
greatly relieved, and he set sail for England the 
following day. 

But Jamestown was its own worst foe. All the 
councillors were mutinously inclined towards 
Wingfield, and few were on friendly terms with 
the others. The food was scant and the water bad. 
The region was a hot-bed of malaria and low 
fever. The ** Paradise of Virginia *' showed itself 
on closer acquaintance to be a gloomy, pest-rid- 
den, mosquito-haunted, tide-water swamp. 

George Percy gives a good picture of the suf- 
ferings of that time. 

**Our men," he wrote, **were destroyed in cruel 
diseases, burning fevers and by wars, some died 
suddenly, but the most part, of mere famine. 
There never were EngUshmen left in a foreign 
country in such misery as we were in this new- 
discovered Virginia. . . . Laying on the bare, cold 
ground, what weather soever came, brought our 
men to be most feeble wretches. 

* * Our food was but a small can of barley sodden 
in water, divided among five men once a day. Our 
drink was cold water taken out of the river, 
which was at flood very salt, and at a low tide 
full of sUme and filth, which was the destruction 
of many of our men. 

**Thus we lived for the space of five months 



JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS 59 

in this miserable distress, not having ^ve able men 
to man our bulwarks upon any occasion. . . . 
Many times, three or four died in one night. In 
the morning, their bodies were trailed out of their 
cabins, like dogs, to be buried.'' 

The first of the councillors to die was Captain 
Gosnold, a clear-headed sailor whose sense of dis- 
cipline had helped to hold the council together. 
After his death, the feud between Wingfield and 
Smith flared high. Smith accused the president 
of keeping food and wine for himself, mean- 
while starving the men; he further charged him 
with tyranny and treason to the Company. Wing- 
field reasserted his accusation of mutiny, though 
Smith had been acquitted by a jury a few days 
before Newport sailed for home. 

The truth was that Wingfield was a gallant 
soldier and an honorable gentleman, but an ut- 
terly incompetent leader; Smith was a rough- 
tongued and mutinous hot-head, but a born pio- 
neer and a natural master of men. 

Early in September, Wingfield was deposed 
both from the presidency and the council, and 
Ratcliife was elected in his place. Soon after- 
wards, a new mutiny was discovered, headed by 
Captain Kendall. The treason was fully proved. 
By order of the council, Kendall was taken out 
and shot. 

During these pitiful and shameful times, Smith 
alone saved the situation. Many visits he made 



60 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

to the Indians and managed to secure small 
stores of com. Then, to use his own words, * * came 
welcome relief, such abundance of fowls (wild 
ducks, probably) upon our rivers as greatly re- 
freshed our weak estate, whereupon many of our 
weak men were presently able to go abroad. 

**As yet we had no houses to cover us. Our 
tents were rotten and our cabins worse than 
nought. ... At this time most of our chiefest 
men were either sick or discontented, the rest be- 
ing in such despair that they would rather starve 
and rot with idleness than be persuaded to do 
anything for their own relief.'' 

Such hopeless despair seems incredible, for the 
woods were full of game, the seas full of fish. 
Either Smith or Gosnold could have whipped the 
idlers into shape, but Smith had enemies and 
Gosnold was dead. 

On December 10, having secured enough food 
from the Indians to last the fort a little while. 
Smith started on a trading, hunting and exploring 
expedition up the Chickahominy River. Having 
gone as far in the shallop as the water would al- 
low, he proceeded onward in a canoe with two 
of his comrades and two Indian guides. While 
exploring ashore, the party of ^ve was attacked 
by a force of two hundred Indians. Smith's two 
white comrades were killed, and he was taken 
prisoner. 

The motive for this attack, according to Wing- 
field 's narrative, was revenge, since some Indians 



JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS 61 

of this tribe had been kidnaped by white men, 
many years before, possibly those of the ill-fated 
Bartholomew Gilbert expedition. Smith was con- 
ducted to several Indian villages by his captors 
and the chiefs were asked if he resembled the 
leader of the kidnapers. With strict honesty, 
all agreed that he was much broader but not as 
tall as the man sought. The English captain 
was then taken before Powhatan for judgment. 

In the skirmish during which his two com- 
rades had been slain, Smith had killed several 
Indians. According to redskin law, his life was 
forfeit to the tribe. Powhatan, therefore, in spite 
of his former friendship, ordered the captive 's im- 
mediate execution. 

Two large flat stones were laid on the ground 
in front of the chief. Smith was forced to lie 
down with his head upon one of these, while a 
group of braves surrounded him with tomahawks, 
ready to beat out his brains when the chief should 
give the word. 

At this juncture, Pocahontas, the daughter of 
Powhatan and then but twelve years old, rushed 
forward, and, throwing herself on the ground be- 
side the captive, she laid her head on his. 

Powhatan, without expressing either anger or 
even surprise, at once ordered the executioners 
to retire, and Smith's life was saved. The Eng- 
lish captain's amazement was great, for he could 
not fathom Pocahontas' purpose. 

Two days later, the mystery of this release deep- 



62 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

ened. The old chief, having, in Smith's words, 
*' disguised himself in the fearfullest manner he 
conld," ordered that the captive be taken to a 
great house standing lonely by itself in the woods. 
There, ^* after the dolefuUest noise that ever was 
heard'' and after a vast number of ceremonies 
which Smith could in no manner understand, the 
great war-chief came out of this lonely house 
** looking more like a devil than a man" and in- 
formed the prisoner that he was free. 

Moreover, Powhatan declared anew his friend- 
ship for Smith and agreed to a personal exchange 
of gifts. On Smith's return to the fort, he was 
to send Powhatan two cannons and a grindstone, 
in return for which he would be granted a piece 
of land in the village and would evermore be re- 
garded as the chief's o^vn son. 

Smith 's own story of this rescue is peculiarly in- 
teresting. He shows, quite clearly, that he did 
not understand the actions of the Indians, and, 
until quite recently, the interference of Poca- 
hontas has been grossly misread. A thorough 
knowledge of Indian law and Indian customs 
throws a clear light on the whole affair. 

Pocahontas was the younger sister of Parahunt, 
the young chief at Powhatan Falls with whom 
Newport and Smith had made a treaty of friend- 
ship. Powhatan, the father of Pocahontas, was 
friendly to the whites at this time. Although he 
was head war-chief of the confederacy, however, 
he could not go against Indian law, but rather 





'^■^. 



m-s 






THE DEFEAT OF THE SPANISH ARMADA 

The gathering of the Armada in the spring of 1588 interfered with the plans of the 
Virginia colonies. Every ship and every man was needed in England for the defence 
of the country. England was fighting for her life and she knew it. One of the relief 
expeditions fitted out by Sir Walter Raleigh under the command of Grenville was 
stopped by the Lord High Admiral and the ships seized for the navy. 




POCAHONTAS CLAIMING THE LIFE OF THE CONDEMNED MAN 
AT THE EXECUTION STONE 

It was an iron-bound rule, under the old Indian laws, that a prisoner of war, who 
had killed any member of the tribe must be put to death unless he became, himself, 
a member of the tribe, to replace the loss he had caused. Pocahontas' action was 
to express that Smith had become her adopted brother and so a candidate for formal 
adoption into the tribe. 



JOHN SMITH AND POCAHONTAS 63 

was required to administer justice according to 
that law. 

It was an iron-bound rule that a prisoner of war, 
who had killed any member of the tribe, must be 
put to death unless he became, himself, a member 
of the tribe, to replace the loss that he had caused. 
This he could only do by adoption. 

Any member of the tribe, old or young, male 
or female, had a right to demand the life of a 
condemned prisoner of war, providing the cap- 
tive was willing to be adopted and providing that 
the sponsor was ready to assume the responsi- 
bility for the acts of the new member of the tribe. 

Pocahontas, therefore, was not acting under the 
impulse of *4ove at first sight'', as has often been 
supposed. She was only twelve years old. She 
was carrying out a not uncommon form of Indian 
custom. It is more than possible that Powhatan 
had arranged the matter beforehand. 

Smith 's own account of what happened after he 
had been saved from the tomahawks shows that 
this is the true explanation. He was utterly in 
the dark as to the meaning of the ceremonies that 
followed, but they are quite clear to any student 
of Indian ways. 

Powhatan was a medicine-man, as well as a 
war-chief. When Pocahontas, by her action, 
avowed herself as Smith's tribal sponsor, it was 
necessary to carry out the ceremonies of adop- 
tion. The *^ disguise in fearfullest manner" of 
which Smith writes was undoubtedly Powhatan's 



64 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

medicine-man costume. The lonely house in the 
woods was the medicine hut, which is always dis- 
tant from the camp. The doleful howling were 
the chants and ceremonies of adoption. It was in 
full ceremonial paint, *^ looking more like a devil 
than a man,*' that Powhatan formally notified 
Smith of his reception into the tribe. 

The exchange of goods ratified the acceptance. 
The gift of a piece of land was an evidence of 
tribal rights. The statement that Smith would be 
the chief 's own son was an announcement that he 
had become the adopted brother of Pocahontas, 
the chief's daughter. That the alliance was ac- 
cepted by the tribe is seen in the fact that Pocahon- 
tas was allowed to visit the fort frequently, with 
the consent of her father, and that the sending of 
regular supplies by the Powhatan Indians began 
at the same time. 

A correct understanding of the relations be- 
tween the little Indian girl and the famous soldier 
of fortune does not weaken their importance nor 
diminish their beauty. The figures of the winsome 
Pocahontas and the valiant John Smith will ever 
east a gentle glamor over the quarrels and suf- 
ferings which darkened the history of the first 
English settlement on the James Eiver. 



CHAPTER IV 

•THE STARVING TIME 

The adoption of Captain John Smith by the 
Powhatan Indians was a matter of supreme im- 
portance to the colony, yet it was only by the 
narrowest squeak that the adventurer lived to 
take advantage of it. ^Vhen he returned to 
Jamestown, January 2, 1608, he found his head 
in greater peril than when he was lying on a stone 
in front of the war-chief, expecting the tomahawk- 
wielders to beat out his brains. 

Envy, hatred and mutiny had broken out afresh. 
During Smith's absence, his most vindictive en- 
emy, Gabriel Archer, had been elected a member 
of the council. Archer was both a la^vyer and a 
fanatic. From the moment of his election he 
schemed ways to injure Smith. 

Finally, despairing of reaching his enemy by 
the civil law, he bethought him of a strange idea. 
In the Old Testament he found an ancient Leviti- 
cal law which stated that a commander who un- 
necessarily led his men into a danger whereby 
they perished should himself be put to death. 
Upon Smith's arrival at the fort he was instantly 

65 



66 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

arrested and charged by Archer with the viola- 
tion of this law. 

Eatcliffe, the new president, was not unwilling 
to get rid of Smith. He was afraid of him. He 
feared that the news of the captain's success with 
the Indians would gain him too many supporters, 
and Eatcliffe was well aware that his rule was 
detested. 

The council had become a farce. Gosnold and 
Kendall were dead; Wingfield and Smith were 
prisoners. The two conspirators, Ratcliffe and 
Archer, formed a majority of the council. They 
promptly found Smith guilty under this long-for- 
gotten Levitical law and condemned him to be 
hanged next day. 

But Captain John Smith was born to adventure. 
He had not escaped death a score of times to be 
hanged because of the spite of a rascal like Archer. 

That very evening, by a chance which reads like 
the happenings of a fairy tale, Newport suddenly 
arrived before the fort in the John and Francis, 
bringing what is known as * * The First Supply. * * 

He found a terrible state of affairs. 

When Newport left Jamestown, on June 22, 
1607, there were 105 colonists surviving. When 
he returned, on January 2, 1608, only 38 men re- 
mained alive to greet him. All were weakened 
with famine and disease. Of the six councillors, 
one was dead from disease, one had been executed, 
one had been deposed and was in irons, and one 
was under sentence to be hanged next day. 



THE STARVING TIME 67 

Newport, like the dashing privateer and disci- 
pUnary sea-dog that he was, burst upon Ratcliffe 
and Archer like a northern gale. He thundered 
contempt of the decrees of President Ratcliffe 
and swore that if Archer dared to open his mouth 
to him, he would have him stripped, tied to a tree 
and given forty lashes. He released Wingfield 
and Smith and restored the latter to his place on 
the council. 

For a few days, hope revived. The John and 
Francis had brought a fair cargo of supplies, but 
she had also brought more colonists (either 90 
or 120 according to different accounts). This 
hope was too good to last. 

Disaster dogged the settlers steadily. Five days 
after the arrival of the ship, a fire broke out which 
consumed the dwellings and the storehouses and 
a large part of the food. The winter was cold and 
the marsh-land damp. The new arrivals, com- 
pelled to live in mere shelters of boughs loosely 
woven together, speedily sickened. Many took 
pneumonia and died within a few weeks of their 
landing. 

Newport, accompanied by Smith, made an of- 
ficial visit to Powhatan. The fleet commander had 
brought from England a number of showy gifts 
for the war-chief, and since Smith 's adoption into 
the tribe was but recent, the Indian leader was 
most friendly. He ordered Newport's pinnace to 
be loaded to the gunwales with provisions. 

Despite this double supply — from the John and 



68 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Francis and from Powhatan — Newport's stay 
helped the colony but little. The London Com- 
pany, seeing all the money going out and none 
coming in, had ordered him to bring back a cargo. 
By the terms of the charter, communal work was 
compulsory. 

To fulfill the desires of the London merchants, 
the sick and hungered colonists were compelled 
to labor at back-breaking toil. Huge black walnut 
trees were felled and hewn into logs for ship- 
ment. There were no roads, no horses, no ma- 
chinery. The logs had to be hauled and lifted by 
the poor strength of the exhausted settlers. Cap- 
tain Martin had discovered some ore which he 
wrongly supposed might contain gold, and weary 
weeks were spent in digging this worthless stuff. 

As a result of this wasted energy, the impera- 
tive needs of the colony were neglected. Only four 
acres of land were cleared and planted with corn 
that spring. 

Disease and exposure, and, above all, the slavery 
of overwork in a fetid marsh, claimed their toll 
of life. When Newport sailed again for England, 
on April 14, 1608, he had his cargo, but it was at 
the cost of two score graves and more. Even 
with the addition of the new arrivals, only 53 men 
were left alive. Wingfield, the deposed president, 
and Archer, the trouble-maker, went back with 
Newport. 

Ten days after the John and Francis had left 
with her cargo, the Phoenix arrived. She brought 



THE STARVING TIME 69 

45 more colonists and additional supplies. But 
her captain, also, by the orders of the Company, 
demanded a cargo of cedar. With better weather, 
new hands and plenty of supplies, the small vessel 
was quickly loaded. The light cedar was easier to 
handle. There were 95 colonists living when the 
Phoenix sailed for England in June. 

Smith spent the summer exploring Chesapeake 
Bay, and the Potomac, Susquehanna and Rappa- 
hannock Elvers. His map of those regions is a 
monument of skill, hard work, keen observation 
and a marvelous understanding of Indians. But, 
when he returned to Jamestown, he found the 
settlement in as desperate a state as ever. 

The malarial season of 1608 had been as bad 
as that of the year before, and the swampy site 
of Jamestown was a deliberate challenge to Death. 
Mutiny, also, had broken out again. Ratcliif e had 
been deposed, and Matthew Scrivener elected tem- 
porarily in his place. When Ratcliffe's term 
ended. Smith was unanimously chosen President. 

Less than three weeks after Smith's election, 
on September 29, 1608, Newport arrived with the 
** Second Supply.'' He found but 50 colonists 
alive. 

The colonists brought in the Second Supply 
numbered 70 ; of these Captain Peter Wynne and 
Captain Richard Waldo were appointed to be of 
the council. Among the new settlers was one gen- 
tlewoman, Mrs. Forrest, and also her maid, Anne 
Burras. Two months later the maid married John 



70 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Laydon, this being the first English marriage 
ceremony on American soil. She gave birth, a 
year later, to Virginia Laydon, the first white 
baby born in the James River colony. 

As on his former voyage, Newport brought 
drastic orders from the London Company that 
the colony must bestir itself to make money for 
its backers. Either a route to the Pacific Ocean 
or a gold-mine must be found immediately ; other- 
wise, large cargoes of rare woods must be got 
ready for shipment. 

Smith bluntly told the commander that the 
members of the Company were fools. Yet he was 
a soldier, and he obeyed the orders without hesita- 
tion. 

In December, 1608, Newport returned to Eng- 
land with a cargo of pitch, tar, iron ore and 
timber, provided under conditions of terrible toil 
by the feeble and short-handed settlers. Smith 
grew more and more furious as the slow process 
of loading continued, and he w^rote to the Com- 
pany what he rightly called **A Rude Letter." 

This epistle was as truthful as it was insubor- 
dinate. Speaking for the colonists, Smith declared 
that *4n overtaxing our weak and unskillful bodies 
to satisfy this desire of present profit, we scarce 
can recover ourselves from one Supply to an- 
other." He pointed out that this policy of putting 
a few pennies into the pockets of London mer- 
chants, at the cost of life and hope in Virginia, 
made the colony dependent upon Indian charity. 







ARRIVAL OF SUPPLY SHIPS AT JAMESTOWN 

Such a scene was of frequent occurrence when the colony became a settled reality 
but in the first days of the settlement such a sight was always welcome, never more 
so however than on the arrival of the John and Francis "The First Supply." 




POCAHONTAS LEARNING TO READ 

Pocahontas frequently visited Jamestown after the return of Captain Smith from 
the Indian camp. Tradition says he taught her to read and this old painting shows 
the winsome daughter of Powhatan and the valiant captain at study. 



iFri"5 three t\tufie Cvrnlnds Lnap' 
His Evcountey' wt tfi T VRB AS RAW A. ij^ 




Turbashaw was the m^l ( liaiiii 



\ tlie Turks to joust with the Christian knight. 



Uii Combat with ORVAI^GO. (Tap ^ of three fiundre^d fior [men 
Cfiajf ^ ^ ^ 




(Tiiialgi) was till SI Lond eliaiuiiioii piLktd b_\ ihc i 'U k- aiiii Loo was qiiK kl,\ ckltalfd. 



PICTURES FROM THE HISTORY OF CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH's TRAVELS 
AMONG THE TURKS 



How he Jufv ISONNY:MVl.GRO C ftay - 7 • 




Prince Sigismundus knighted Captain Smith for his exploit and granted him a coat 
of three Turks' heads, presenting him with a banner with this device upon it 

PICTURES FROM THE HISTORY OF CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH's TRAVELS 
AMONG THE TURKS 




THE CROWNING OF POWHATAN 

Among the gifts which Captain Newport brought to Chief Powhatan were a crown 
and ermine trimmed scarlet robe, a four-post bedstead, and many household utensil'^ 
such as had never before been seen by the Indians. 



THE STARVING TIME 71 

Furthermore, it prevented the building of houses, 
clearing of land and planting of fields. 

There was, however, another side to the story, 
and Newport did his best to point it out. The 
London merchants had expended many hundreds 
of pounds and had not received in return as many 
shillings. They had entered the business as a 
commercial speculation. The Charter required 
that communal work should be done. They had a 
right to demand that work. 

The Second Supply had been able to bring but 
a small amount of provisions. The long sea voyage 
had consumed a large proportion of the food, and 
enough must be left on board for the return trip. 
Moreover, as each supply ship also brought more 
colonists, this meant more mouths to feed. 

When Newport sailed for home in December 
he left but two months' food. He could by no 
means return with more supplies under twice that 
length of time. The colony was once more fore- 
doomed to starvation. 

Ratcliffe returned to England with Newport, 
leaving Smith as the only remaining one of the 
original six councillors. He was at first assisted 
by Scrivener, Waldo and Wynne. The first two 
were accidentally drowned, three weeks after New- 
port's departure, and Wynne died shortly after. 
Smith was left as sole ruler, and he appointed no 
more councillors. 

Trouble was brewing among the Indians. The 
visits of Pocahontas had ceased, the natives no 



72 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

longer brought supplies. Trading voyages to the 
York Eiver resulted only in a few bushels of corn. 

Smith decided upon a bold move, one which 
almost cost him his life and the lives of all his 
men. He determined to threaten Powhatan into 
obedience. He all but failed. Once again, it was 
Pocahontas who saved him. 

It is to be remembered that Smith had never 
told Powhatan that the white men were coming 
to settle the country. He dared not. On the 
contrary, his first story had been that the English 
were taking refuge from the Spaniards, and were 
only waiting until ** Father Newport'' should re- 
turn and take them to their own land. 

Since then, Newport had come three times, on 
each voyage bringing more men. The colonists 
had constantly strengthened their fort and were 
trying to clear more land. It was obvious to the 
Indians that the white men intended to stay. It 
was equally clear that they were a sickly breed, 
and, besides, were poor farmers and worse 
hunters. 

Powhatan saw clearly that if he wished to get 
rid of these unwelcome invaders, all that was 
necessary was to cease supplying them with food. 
Trading almost stopped. The redskins would 
accept nothing but weapons in return for corn. 

Shortly after Christmas, Powhatan sent a mes- 
senger, asking for the help of white men who 
could show him how to build a house in white 
man's fashion, and promising food in payment. 



THE STARVING TIME 73 

Smith suspected a trap, but, at least, the men who 
went would be fed, and those who remained at 
the fort could make the provisions last a longer 
time. 

He accepted Powhatan 's offer and sent 14 men. 
But, a few days later, he followed with 27 men, in 
the pinnace and the barge. On their way up the 
river, a friendly Indian warned them that Pow- 
hatan was planning treachery. 

In spite of the warning, Smith continued on his 
journey. It was not choice, but necessity. Even 
on short rations, the food in the fort would not 
last a month. 

Ignoring all precautions, which he knew would 
be interpreted as a sign of fear, he advanced to 
the war-chief ^s town of Werowocomoco and faced 
Powhatan boldly. 

The conference — the full details of which are 
given in Smithes own narrative — was a keen con- 
test of wits. Each leader suspected the other. 
Powhatan accused Smith of falsehood, the Eng- 
lishman retorted that the Indians had broken 
their oath of friendship. 

The chief sneered that the white men, who 
claimed to be so clever, were compelled to depend 
for their food on the charity of the Indians ; Smith 
retorted that the English had means of getting 
food in ways that savages could not understand, 
implying magic powers. Seeing that this hint 
of sorcery worried the aged chief. Smith solemnly 



74 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

prophesied that the day the whites withdrew their 
friendship, ruin would fall upon the tribe. 

Powhatan appeared to give way and decoyed 
Smith and one comrade into a small hut. Lv 
stantly the place was surrounded with armed 
braves, but, before they could enter, the two white 
men leaped out with drawn swords and charged 
so furiously that the Indians fled. 

This maladroit treachery gave Smith a moral 
advantage, and he seized it. He denounced Pow- 
hatan for a coward and oath-breaker, bullied him 
before his own sub-chiefs and braves, and by 
sheer dominance of character overbore the wai 
chief, compelled him to produce corn and have it 
loaded in the barge. ^ 

By the time this was done, the tide had fallen 
and the boat was stranded. There was nothing 
to do but wait for high tide. The Englishmen 
took up their quarters in a hut, some distance 
from the village and Smith ordered Powhatan to 
send them food for their evening meal. 

There was a long delay, and the white men got 
ready for the worst. ''Then,'' as Smith tells the 
story, ''then that dearest jewel, Pocahontas, in 
that dark night came through the irksome woods 
and told us that great cheer should be sent, by 
and by, but Powhatan and all the power he could 
make would come afterward and kill us all, if 
they that brought the food did not kill us . . . 
when we were at supper. Therefore, if we would 



THE STARVING TIME 75 

Ip/e, she wished us presently (instantly) to be 
gone. 

'^Such things as she delighted in, we would 
b'lve given her, but, with the tears running down 
h^r cheeks, she said she durst not be seen to 
have any, for if Powhatan should know it, she 
were dead ; and so she ran away by herself as she 
came. * ^ 

An hour later, a dozen powerful braves 
appeared, bringing venison, roasted com and 
other food. There was little doubt that others 
v> ere lurking in the woods, awaiting a signal. 

The savages found the white men obviously on 
guard, every man on the alert, in full armor, the 
Hatches of their matchlocks glowing. And, as 
the Indians were leaving, after depositing the food 
on the floor of the hut, Smith said sternly and 
V ith threatening emphasis, 

**If Father Powhatan is coming to visit us 
to-night, let him make haste, for I am full ready 
to receive him." 

To the Indians, never quite sure as to the 
magical powers of the white men, this message 
was menacing. Smith's knowledge of their plans 
seemed like sorcery. They saw that they could 
not count upon the advantage of surprise. They 
did not dare to face a body of desperate men, 
in armor, well equipped with firearms and plenty 
of ammunition. 

There was no sleep among the white men that 
night. A vigilant guard was kept at every point 



76 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

until high tide. Then, with every precaution 
against surprise that Smith's long military expe- 
rience could suggest, the barge got away with 300 
bushels of corn on board. 

Thus, by the warning of Pocahontas, a massacre 
was averted, for a large war-party had been con- 
cealed near the fort, to storm it and slay every 
man, woman and child therein, so soon as a swift 
runner should bring news of the destruction of 
Smith and his band. 

With the coming of spring, the colony showed 
signs of prospering under Smith's vigorous rule. 
A well was dug, and, for the first time, the settlers 
had good drinking water. Twenty cabins were 
built, the church repaired, forty acres of land 
cleared and planted with corn. 

All was proceeding smoothly, when, suddenly, 
the terrible discovery was made that rats had got 
into the casks where the com was stored. Much 
of it had been eaten, and the rest had been so 
spoiled by the rats that it had begun to rot. In 
that moist, swampy air, the rot spread rapidly. 
Amid the spring rains, it could not be spread out 
to dry. Hardly any of the grain was fit to eat. 

From hope and content, the colony was again 
plunged into despair. With Powhatan an enemy, 
no Indian supplies could be secured. The crop 
would not be ripe for several months. There was 
no knowing when another supply ship would come. 

In this urgency. Smith divided the colonists 
into four parties, in order that one or the other 



THE STARVING TIME 77 

might have the better chance of surviving. One 
party took copper and beads and was sent to trade 
with isolated Indian villages who might have a 
few handfuls of corn to give; this party might 
find game in the woods or could live on berries as 
soon as they should ripen. A second party was 
sent to the oyster banks; these men suffered 
sorely, for the exclusive shell-fish diet produced a 
fearful skin disease in which the skin fell from 
them in patches ^^as if they had been flayed.*' A 
third party was stationed near Old Point Com- 
fort to live on such fish as the men could catch. 
The fourth party acted as a small garrison at the 
fort and lived on famine rations of the scanty food 
there was remaining. 

On July 14, 1609, the fishers at Old Point Com- 
fort saw a ship come in. She was under the com- 
mand of Captain Samuel Argall, and carried a 
supply of biscuit and wine, enough to last the 
colonists for one month. Argall had not come as 
the commander of a supply ship. He had been 
sent to try a shorter and more direct route to 
Virginia and also to fish for sturgeon in the James 
River. 

Argall brought news no less important than the 
supplies. He informed Smith that the old charter 
had been repealed, that the Royal Council of Vir- 
ginia had been abolished, and that Lord De La 
Warr (Delaware) was coming at the head of an 
army of men and a fleet of ships as the sole and 
absolute governor of Virginia. 



78 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

This news was correct in every particular. In- 
deed, by the time Argall reached Virginia, the 
great fleet was already within a week 's sail of the 
American coast. Never did so large a supply 
expedition so nearly attain its aims, and yet result 
so lamentably. 

The disasters on the James Eiver had been the 
cause of the change of colonization plans. The 
tales of Wingfield and Eatcliffe and the letters 
of Smith had disheartened many of the backers 
of the Company. These abandoned the project. 
Others wished to continue, but on a different basis. 
On May 23, 1609, a new charter was granted, now 
generally known as the Second Virginia Charter. 

This entirely separated the James River colony 
from any relation with ^' North Virginia.'' It 
reduced the amount of territory, confining it to 
200 miles of the seacoast, stretching an equal dis- 
tance north and south of Old Point Comfort and 
inland as far as the South Sea (Pacific Ocean). 
The government of the colony passed from the 
control of a Royal Council and was placed in the 
hands of the stockholders of the company. 

The two leaders were admirably chosen. The 
treasurer, who controlled affairs in England, was 
Sir Thomas Smythe, perhaps the finest figure of 
a great merchant prince that early England pro- 
duced. The governor, in supreme control in the 
colony, was Thomas West, Lord De La Warr, 
related to Queen Elizabeth and a staunch pro- 
moter of American colonization. Sir Thomas 



THE STARVING TIME 79 

Gates, a sturdy soldier, was made lieutenant-gov- 
ernor; Sir George Somers, a tine type of the 
Elizabethan sea-dog breed, was named as admiral. 

A fleet of nine large vessels was put under the 
command of Newport, and Gates and Somers 
sailed with him on June 8, 1609, in his flagship, the 
Sea Venture. 

Between 500 and 600 emigrants were included 
in this ^^ Third Supply,^' about 100 being women 
and children. Most of these had been lured by 
false promises. Every adventurer who subscribed 
a small sum was to have a share and a voice in 
the affairs of the Company. Every emigrant was 
promised ample food and clothing, a house, 
orchard, garden and 100 acres of land for himself 
and each member of the family; skilled tradesmen 
and professional men were to be allowed a great 
deal more. 

It seems incredible that such men as Newport, 
Ratcliffe and Archer— all of whom knew the truth 
about the James River— could have permitted and 
even supported such a tissue of misrepresenta- 
tion. Yet they did so, and under these specious 
and deliberate lies, thousands of pounds were sub- 
scribed and hundreds of emigrants volunteered. 

Lord De La Warr, who had at first purposed to 
accompany the fleet, remained in London to make 
further plans to send an even larger number of 
colonists in the following spring. In order that 
there should be no disputes over leadership, Gates 
was given **the rights, privileges and duties of 



00 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

sole and absolute governor'' until Lord De La 
Warr should arrive. 

All went well at first. The fleet took the Azores 
route. It was not a week's sail off the American 
coast when a whirling West Indian hurricane 
swept on it from Cape Hatteras. One of the 
smaller ships was sunk with all on board. The 
other vessels were scattered. 

The Sea Venture suffered terribly. Her timbers 
were so wrenched and strained that she leaked like 
a sieve. A score of times it seemed as though 
nothing could keep her from going to the bottom. 
For five days, the crew worked in relays, pumping 
and baling, standing in water to their waists. 
Jury-masts were rigged on which scraps of sail 
could be hoisted. 

The ship was kept afloat by the magnetic 
authority and the indomitable vigor of the veteran 
Somers. The grizzled admiral, staunch old sea- 
dog that he was, never left the quarter-deck for 
three days and three nights. 

At length land was sighted and the Sea Venture 
was driven for the shore. So cleverly was she 
handled by Somers that the vessel was run in 
and wedged immovably between two rocks. Every 
soul aboard was saved, and most of the cargo and 
gear was salvaged. The island was found to be 
uninhabited, save by wild pigs, a proof that, at 
one time, Europeans must have landed there. 
With their ship a complete wreck, the leaders of 
the new colony were marooned. 



THE STARVING TIME 81 

On August 11, 1609, four ships of Gates* fleet — 
but without GateSj Newport or Somers — stag- 
gered into Hampton Eoads. Three other vessels 
arrived a few days later. About 350 colonists 
were landed, many of them ill of the *^ London 
Plague. ' * It was the malarial season in Virginia. 
The provisions brought by the ships had been 
badly spoiled by sea-water. Instead of relieving 
the situation on the James River, the coming of 
the *^ Third Supply'' made it infinitely worse. 

Matters were bad enough. Some 70 or 80 per- 
sons were alive, all dispersed into various parties 
and starving. Some were at the oyster-beds, 
dying slowly of ^* shell-fish leprosy.'' Some were 
eking out a miserable existence in the woods with 
berries and an occasional rabbit as their sole sup- 
port. Some were little better than slaves to the 
Indians. Only a handful of emaciated men 
remained at the fort. 

The non-arrival of Gates, the only man with 
authority to rule, renewed the civil strife which 
had cursed the James River colony from the start. 
Smith's enemies, Ratclitfe, Archer and Martin, 
had come in command of three of the vessels of 
the fleet. Since their new authority came directly 
from the hands of Lord De La Warr, they 
promptly joined forces against Smith. 

Ratclitfe peremptorily ordered Smith to abdi- 
cate in his favor. Smith refused, point blank, and 
swore that he would yield his authority to no one 
except Lord De La Warr, Gates or some one duly 



82 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

appointed as governor by either. The old colo- 
nists and most of the sailors supported Smith, the 
new colonists were on the side of Ratcliffe. Civil 
war was about to break out when Smith arrested 
Ratclitfe and put him in irons as a disturber of 
the peace. 

While the corn crop would soon ripen, Hiere was 
but little to feed the hundreds of inexpert and 
plague-stricken colonists brought over by the 
Third Supply. It was again necessary to divide 
the settlers into three parties, one going to Nan- 
semond, one to Powhatan Falls, the third, with 
the women and children, remaining at Jamestown. 

The Nansemond and the Powhatan Falls set- 
tlements were attacked by Indians. The former 
was, withdrawn to Jamestown. While making 
peace at Powhatan Falls, Smith surveyed and 
bought from the Indians a tract of land near the 
present site of Richmond. This place, which he 
called ^^ None-Such," was on a range of hills, 
healthful and easy of defense, thousandfold bet- 
ter than the marsh on which Jamestown was built. 

The culminating disaster was to come. On his 
way back from ** None-Such, " Smith was seriously 
wounded by the explosion of a bag of gunpowder 
in the boat. He reached Jamestown completely 
disabled. 

Immediately his enemies, with Archer at the 
head, took occasion to spread all sorts of scur- 
rilous stories against him. Some declared that 
he led men into danger that they might be killed 



THE STARVING TIME 83 

to enable the provisions to last longer; others 
asserted that he whipped and imprisoned men 
whose only fault was that they dared to withstand 
his orders (a curious manner of excusing 
mutiny) ; those who had suffered on the oyster 
banks blamed him for their diseases ; many blamed 
him for not having married Pocahontas (although 
she was not yet fifteen years of age) and thus 
having a hostage for the Indians. 

Amid such rivalry and hate as existed at James- 
town, it is difficult to be sure of the exact truth. 
All narratives are partisan and contradictory. 
The writers did not mince their words. Undoubt- 
edly Smith was something of a braggart, admit- 
tedly he dealt mth military harshness. But that 
he saved Jamestown on several occasions, not 
even his foes could deny. When he sailed for 
England, a disabled man, early in October, George 
Percy had been chosen as the new President. 

What Smith did for Virginia was told in the 
official proceedings, written by the colony-mer- 
chant, the surgeon and others, and published in 
1612. Of Smith's departure, this historical record 
states : 

^^What shall I say, but thus we lost him that, in 
all his proceedings, made justice his first good, 
and experience his second; ever hating baseness, 
sloth, pride and indignity more than any dangers ; 
that never allowed more for himself than his 
soldiers with him; that upon no danger would 
send them where he would not lead them himself ; 



84 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

that would never see us want what he either had 
or could by any means get us ; that would rather 
want than borrow, or starve than not pay; that 
loved actions more than words and hated false- 
hood and cozenage [cheating] worse than death; 
whose adventures were our lives, and whose loss 
our deaths/' 

It would be difficult to find, in all history, a 
higher paean of praise than this ! 

Never were truer words written than **his loss 
our deaths.'' Smith's departure was a signal of 
doom. Percy, the new President, was a man of 
unblemished character, but he was not of the 
heroic mold of which great pioneers are made. 

Moreover, his task was an impossible one. 
There were now nearly 500 mouths to fill, and 
there was not much food with which to fill them. 
The well which had been dug by Smith and which 
gave water enough for a few settlers was useless 
for so many. They must needs return to drinking 
the disease-breeding river water. Dysentery 
broke out in its most violent form. 

The vicious principle of communism, whereby 
idlers shared equally with workers, and which 
had been held in check by the autocracy of Smith, 
now bore its evil fruit. The older settlers, who 
had struggled so long and so bitterly, found them- 
selves swamped by this new flood of feeble for- 
tune-seekers. The new colonists, utterly disheart- 
ened, would not work, nor would they have known 



THE STARVING TIME 85 

how to do so. Percy had no power ; he lay help- 
less, so ill that **he could neither go nor stand." 

The Indians who had been held back by their 
fear of Smith now broke into open defiance. They 
**did murder and spoil all they could encounter.'' 
Instead of trying to heal the breach, 'Hhe unruly 
gallants among the new arrivals commenced to 
shoot savages for sport.'' 

The Indians were not slow to answer. Eat- 
cliffe and thirty men were massacred at a Pamun- 
key village and a party under the command of 
Francis West, brother of Lord De La Warr, was 
cut to pieces, West barely escaping with his life. 
The Indians killed most of the settlers' hogs, 
sheep and fowls, which had been brought in the 
Third Supply, in order that the white men should 
have no food. 

The winter came cruelly, with raw winds and 
wet snow. Any man who left the fort in quest 
of firewood was likely to leave his body in the 
woods, with an Indian arrow in the joints of his 
armor or even a musket bullet. In their distress, 
the colonists had begun to exchange firearms for 
food, a thing Smith had never permitted. 

Scores died from cold. As each cabin was 
emptied by death, it was pulled down and used 
for firewood. Driven to desperation by the 
scarcity of fuel inside and the lurking death out- 
side, reckless settlers stripped the palisadoes for 
firewood and pulled down the logs of the fort 
wall. As the barrier weakened, ever and anon a 



86 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

flight of arrows would sweep over and through 
the fort, to remind the white men that the Indians 
were watching them die like rats in a trap. 

Spring brought no relief. To the misery of 
cold succeeded the horror of famine, the worst 
that the James Eiver colony had ever known, for 
now there was no John Smith to help them. There 
was fish in the rivers and game in the woods, but 
war-canoes waited on the water and ambush- 
parties lurked in the forests. 

Finally the last grain of com was eaten, the 
last biscuit gone. The survivors tried to live on 
roots and herbs, going freely into the woods, not 
caring much whether an Indian arrow should give 
them release from the tortures of hunger. 

Cannibalism began. The corpse of an Indian 
was boiled publicly and eaten. The awful mad- 
ness spread. Delirious with hunger, the survivors 
ate of their dead comrades, whether they had 
died of disease or no. One man killed his wife, 
salted her flesh and had lived thereon for three 
weeks before he was found out. 

Even in their terrible state, the decency of the 
remaining colonists revolted at this inhuman 
crime.. The man was tried, found guilty and 
burned alive. Other happenings, not less terrible, 
are recorded of those dark months known to his- 
tory as *^The Starving Time.^' 

Meantime, a thousand miles away, on that 
uninhabited group of islets then marked on the 
charts as the *^ Isles of Demons'' but now known 



THE STARVING TIME 87 

as the Bermuda Islands, the marooned leaders of 
the James River colony worked with might and 
main. The islands were fruitful and healthful. 

Gates, Somers and Newport ruled their little 
colony of the survivors of the Sea Venture with 
prudence and industry. From the small-sized 
cedars which grew on the islands, they built two 
small pinnaces, which they called the Patience and 
the Deliverance, For ironwork they were depend- 
ent on scraps from the wreck. 

Not knowing whether the pinnaces would be 
seaworthy, Gates allow^ed the use of but a small 
part of the provisions saved from the Sea Ven- 
ture. Fruit was plentiful. The castaways laid 
in ample supplies of salted pork from the wild 
pigs and an abundance of smoked fish. For ten 
months they lived there, busily and happily. 

When, at last, the two pinnaces set sail from 
Bermuda, the 150 colonists had learned pioneering 
and discipline; more important still, they pos- 
sessed confidence in their leaders. In their small, 
home-made craft, they crossed the GuH Stream 
without mishap and reached Jamestown on May 
10, 1610. 

Sixty creatures, men, women and children, all 
with a gleam of madness in their eyes, tottered 
through the gaps in the tumble-down fort wall to 
greet their Governor. 

The rest were dead. 

Of the survivors, eight died while trying to 
swallow the first mouthful of food. In the remain- 



88 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

ing fifty-two the spark of life burned so feebly 
that, even with care and good food, it would be 
weeks before these haggard semblances of human- 
ity would be able to help themselves. 

Again the food question rose uppermost. The 
pinnaces had brought food, more than enough for 
their voyage, but the colonists who had been 
marooned on the Bermudas had expected to find 
a flourishing town on the James River and all 
their fellow-settlers well established on the prom- 
ised farms. They found nothing. Not a field had 
been planted. The salted pork and the smoked 
fish would hardly last a month. 

Smitten with the misery and the pity of it all, 
Gates, Somers and Newport — great men, all three 
— decided that Virginia must be abandoned. Not 
counting the 150 men of the Sea Venture, over 
700 people had been landed on the Virginia shore ; 
of these, only 52 human wrecks remained. Not 
a house, a fort nor a planted field remained to 
compensate for three years of bitter suffering, and 
the Indians had been rendered hostile. 

The abandonment was begun. The rained 
cabins were stripped of what few things remained, 
the survivors were helped or carried on board the 
pinnaces. On June 7, 1610, the Virginia (Smith's 
pinnace), the Patience and the Deliverance floated 
down that somber and hated stream — the James 
River. The settlers bivouacked that night on Mul- 
berry Island and resumed the voyage with the 
next dawn. 



THE STARVING TIME 89 

Just at noon, cries of joy and incredulity 
mingled, broke out from the leading pinnace. A 
longboat was seen approaching, an English long- 
boat on those overhung and sluggish waters! It 
bore the most welcome of all welcome news — 
that Lord De La Warr had arrived with a well- 
provisioned fleet, and, even now, was standing into 
the harbor. 

Gone was every idea of abandoning Virginia! 
Even the wan ghosts who lay in the pinnaces and 
who represented all that remained of British effort 
in America, raised a feeble echo to the cheer. 

The prows of the pinnaces were turned up- 
stream again. The 150 colonists of the Sea Ven- 
ture, who had worked so faithfully in the Bermu- 
das, now saw the fruits of their toil. Jamestown 
was soon reached, and, in a fever of haste, the 
new-comers commenced to patch up the cabins 
and to remove some of the manifold evidences of 
despair. 

The Sunday following, Lord De La Warr came 
in person, and, so the record runs, the most hard- 
ened of the soldiers with him sobbed at the spec- 
tacle of misery that met their eyes. The three 
great captains. Gates, Somers and Newport, stood 
to attention, while Lord De La Warr, kneeling in 
that misery-bedewed fort enclosure, offered up his 
heartfelt thanks that he had not come too late, 
that he had arrived in time to save Virginia. 



CHAPTER V 

THE LAND OF TOBACCO 

A new spirit arose in Virginia — the spirit of 
discipline. De La Warr's authority could not be 
disputed, Gates brooked no trifling. Yet three 
hindrances to success remained : scarcity of food, 
Indian hostility and the unhealthfulness of the 
site of Jamestown. 

Lord De La Warr lost no time in dealing with 
the food situation. Having learned from Somers 
how near were the pig-populated Bermudas, he 
sent the admiral and Argall in the two home-made 
pinnaces for cargoes of salted pork and some score 
of live animals for breeding. 

The Bermudas, however, were not known as 
**the vexed Bermoothes'' and the ** Isles of 
Demons'' for nothing. When halfway across the 
Gulf Stream, a West Indian hurricane came howl- 
ing up past Cape Fear and separated the rudely 
constructed pinnaces. 

Somers, a veteran sailor, succeeded in beating 
back to the Bermudas, but was taken ill soon after 
landing and perished there. His dying injunc- 
tions to his crew were that they should fulfill Lord 
De La Warr's orders and return to Virginia. But 

90 



THE LAND OF TOBACCO 91 

the sailors, misliking the conditions on the James 
Eiver and having a fair wind for England, sailed 
home, taking the body of their commander with 
them. 

Argall, in the smaller pinnace, had run north- 
wards before the hurricane. When it abated, he 
was off the coast of Maine. There he took on 
fresh water, and, finding the cod-fishing quick and 
easy, decided to stock a cargo of salt fish instead 
of losing time in sailing to the Bermudas for 
pork. 

On his way back, entering Chesapeake Bay, he 
sailed up the Potomac River, trading with the 
Indians and receiving as much com as he could 
carry. This trading was made possible by the 
aid of Harry Spelman, an English boy who had 
been left with the Indians a year before and who 
had been saved ^^from the fury of Powhatan'^ by 
his friendship with some of the Potomac tribes. 

These supplies of fish and corn were welcome, 
but ArgalPs pinnace was small. Somers did not 
return. No more supply ships were to be expected 
from England that season. 

In this difficulty. Lord De La Warr's energy 
showed to good advantage. He bade the settlers 
collect and dry berries in large numbers. He 
established parties of hunters and laid in store 
of dried venison. He kept a number of small 
boats fishing near the mouth of the Charles River. 
In spite of the lateness of his arrival, he managed 
to get eleven acres of land planted with corn. 



92 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Then the Lord Governor took up the question 
of Indian warfare. He offered peace. Powhatan 
answered insolently that he would not consider 
any terms until Lord De La Warr sent him a 
coach and three horses and guaranteed that the 
English should not occupy land outside of the 
peninsula of Jamestown. 

Although humane, Lord De La Warr was not 
weak. Ignoring further parley, he ordered Gates 
to attack Pochins, the son of Powhatan, and to 
drive him from his stronghold at Kecoughtan. 
Gates did so with such speed and thoroughness 
that Powhatan was cowed. The war-chief realized 
that he had no chance against his white foes, 
unless the latter were weakened by hunger. 

Famine and Indian hostility were thus checked. 
Malaria proved a more stubborn foe. Though 
new wells were dug, the swampy soil had little 
filtering quality and dysentery again spread 
through the settlement. In spite of all precau- 
tions, 150 persons died in ^ve months from these 
two diseases alone. Garrisons at Fort Henry and 
Fort Charles suffered less heavily. 

When autumn came, Newport went back to 
England. Gates accompanied him, to report to 
the Company the exact state of affairs in Virginia 
and to urge a speedy sending of more supplies. 

When the ships had left, the outlying garrisons 
were withdrawn. The colonists at Jamestown 
were again reduced to 200 persons, men, women 
and children. Although aMe-bodied men were 



THE LAND OF TOBACCO 93 

few, Lord De La Warr — to make good his promise 
to the Company — sent a party to the Falls of the 
James Eiver in search of a gold-mine. The expe- 
dition proved disastrous. Several of the men were 
killed by Indians. The ore that was found proved 
worthless. 

Winter put an end to the epidemic of malaria. 
As cabins had been built and plenty of fuel cut, 
deaths from exposure were fewer than in any 
preceding winter. The strain, however, had be- 
come too great for the Lord Governor, who had 
been ill most of the summer, and who was at the 
point of death during the winter. Despite his 
sickness he labored gallantly, and, from his bed, 
maintained discipline and authority. 

When Lord De La Warr sailed for England, on 
March 28, 1611, hardly expecting to reach his home 
alive, he left full three months' provisions and a 
large amount of ground prepared and manured, 
ready for planting. George Percy was appointed 
Deputy Governor until Gates should return with 
supplies, which were expected a few weeks later. 

Gates had met with difficulties in England. The 
truth about Virginia was becoming known. Money 
was subscribed unwillingly and emigrants were 
even harder to find. Fewer gentlemen volun- 
teered, and, as Smith had pointed out, the knights 
and gentlemen had been willing to face hardship 
when the artisans and laborers skulked. Gates 
remained in England to arrange for a further 
shipment and to try and induce more worthy set- 



94f THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

tiers to emigrate. But, knowing the needs of 
Jamestown, he sent three supply ships with 300 
colonists under the command of Sir Thomas Dale, 
who was famous for his severity as a disciplin- 
arian. 

The reputation was deserved. Dale knew that 
he had been appointed as High Marshal of Vir- 
ginia because of his ability to keep order under 
the roughest and most mutinous conditions. He 
established martial law immediately upon his 
arrival in May, 1611, and handled the colony for 
^ve years as though the men under his charge were 
convicts, instead of voluntary emigrants. 

Dale's policy was clean-cut. He was an 
appointee of the Company, and, as a soldier, he 
was ready to carry out its .orders. The Company 
came first; the colony, afterwards. In this atti- 
tude he was the direct opposite of Captain John 
Smith, who was eager for the interests of the 
colony and inclined toward insubordination to the 
London backers of Virginia. 

Under Dale, the colonists were driven at forced 
labor for long hours on a scanty diet. The laws 
were terribly severe. Death was the punishment 
for criticizing the administration of the colony or 
for unauthorized trading with the Indians. Lazi- 
ness was punished at the whipping post, and con- 
tinued refusal to work was held sufficient cause 
for torture, or even death. 

Harshness breeds resentment and conspiracy. 
A plot arose under Jeffrey Abbott, a friend of 




I 



THE BAPTISM OF POCAHONTAS 

Among the great historical paintings in 
the Rotunda of the Capitol at Washington 
is this painting of the scene of the baptism 
of Pocahontas, under the name of Rebecca. 
She married John Rolfe, who is therefore 
the original Squaw-man of American 
history, and went to England, living there 
for several years, dying in 1617 on the eve 
of her departure for America. The picture 
of her and her son is believed to have been 
painted from life and probably was, as it 
shows very distinctly the prominent facial 
characteristics of the Indian. 





THE LOCATION OF THE EARLY COLONIAL SETTLEMENTS 

This map shows the settlements of Roanoke Island, Croatoan, Jamestown, St. Mary's 
and Kent Island. The shadowed strip of country along the coast shows the grants 
made by King James which was the basis of settlement of all expeditions after 1609. 



THE LAND OF TOBACCO 95 

John Smith, an excellent soldier and a hardy 
pioneer. He resented the autocracy of a Lord 
Governor. He sought no less than the overthrow 
of Dale, Gates and De La Warr, and the restora- 
tion of the old plan. The conspiracy was found 
out and the ringleaders seized, Abbott among 
them. Some were shot, others hanged, and one, 
broken on the wheel. 

Desertion met an equally swift fate. Fifteen 
men, who had seized one of the pinnaces with the 
intention of escaping to England, were caught; 
four of the men were hanged and the others con- 
demned to hard labor. * ' Hanged men, ^ ' Dale was 
said to have remarked, grimly, **eat less than pris- 
oners.'' But Dale was just. Even Alexander 
Whitaker, the gentle ^^ Apostle of Virginia,'' did 
not blame this martial rule. No man was con- 
demned without a fair and impartial trial. 

The High Marshal did not spare himself. He 
was a daring and a gallant soldier and was always 
at the head of his men when there was Indian 
fighting to be done. All along the James and the 
York Rivers, he terrorized the tribes. In such 
matters he knew no mercy. There would be no 
second savage uprising, where once Dale had trod. 

Nevertheless, Dale was as clear-headed as he 
was stem. In two respects, at least, he showed 
far-sighted wisdom. He determined to make the 
colony pay, for, if it did so, there would be no 
difficulty in getting supplies. He determined also 
to get rid of the noxious weed of communism, 



96 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

which had been a source of disaster ever since 
the first landing on the shores of the James River. 

When a man had no personal profit from his 
work, and toiled only under the whip, Dale de- 
clared, his unwilling labor was slow and spiritless. 
With one stroke, the High Marshal changed all 
this. He gave three acres of land to each farmer 
colonist, on the condition of paying six bushels 
of corn annually into the public granary. Another 
class, known as laborer colonists, had less land 
and gave more work to the community, but paid no 
tax on their harvest and were entitled to a larger 
share of the communal supplies. 

From discontented members of a communism 
which had brought nothing but misgovernment 
and starvation, the Jamestown settlers became 
small landed proprietors. For the first time, they 
had an interest in their colony, they were working 
for their own homes. The plan developed slowly, 
but it changed the aspect of affairs in Virginia 
and prepared the way for the self-government 
soon to be established. 

Dale also secured an alliance with the Indians. 
Strange to say, it was achieved through the kid- 
naping of Pocahontas. The story is a curious one, 
and throws another side-light on Indian customs. 

In April, 1613, Argall paid another visit to his 
friends, the Potomac Indians. Among them, to 
his surprise, he found Pocahontas. She had been 
married to an Indian chief, but was eager to break 
the tie. The husband also was wiUing and his 



THE LAND OF TOBACCO 97 

willingness was sufficient in itself to break the 
marriage. 

Indian etiquette, however, required that the 
young wife should be captured, in which case no 
reproach rested upon the husband. One of the 
minor chiefs of the Potomacs agreed to assist in 
the formality and helped Argall to abduct Poca- 
hontas, entirely with her own approval. The 
young EngHsh lad, Harry Spelman, also went to 
Jamestown with Argall, and was for many years 
the interpreter for the colony. 

In this abduction, Argall seems to have had two 
motives. The first of these was to hold Poca- 
hontas as a hostage for Powhatan's good behavior. 
The second was friendliness both to Pocahontas 
and to the Potomacs, for the latter were open to 
the war-chief's displeasure so long as they har- 
bored the fugitive wife. Dale saw immediately the 
mihtary advantage of retaining the chief's daugh- 
ter as a hostage, and he refrained from pushing 
the campaign against Powhatan which he had 
planned for the winter of 1613-1614. 

During this winter, an entirely new turn was 
given to the Pocahontas romance. 

Among the ablest of the colonists at Jamestown 
was John Rolfe, who, with his wife, had sailed 
on the Sea Venture, and had been one of the most 
energetic of the workers at Bermuda. While there, 
his little daughter, Bermuda Rolfe, was born, but 
she did not long survive. Mrs. Eolfe had sue- 



98 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

cumbed to the pestilential climate of Jamestown, 
and had died soon after reaching Virginia. 

Rolf e, a lonely widower, took a strong liking to 
Pocahontas, which ripened into affection as he 
came to know the Indian girl better. On her part, 
Powhatan's daughter greatly admired Rolfe, 
whose grave manners contrasted favorably with 
the familiarity of the younger gallants who had 
recently come from England. Pocahontas was 
easily converted to Christianity, and, shortly after 
her christening, her betrothal to EoEe was an- 
nounced. 

Dale, like a prudent leader, at once seized the 
happy occasion to renew the alliance with Pow- 
hatan. The aged war-chief, weU aware that the 
white men had planned an attack upon Werowoco- 
moco, was only too glad to escape battle with so 
superior a foe. He accepted the alhance and for- 
mally announced that Pocahontas' divorce was 
final, under Indian law. The marriage of Eolfe 
and Pocahontas was solemnized in the church at 
Jamestown, in April, 1614, in the presence of the 
white leaders and many Indian chiefs. 

During these five years of Dale's stern rule, 
Gates had been active. He visited Virginia twice 
and kept up a steady stream of supplies and emi- 
grants. This he was enabled to do through the 
success of Dale's slave-driving poHcy. 

Presently, however, partly because of royal dis- 
favor and because of the heavy death-rate in the 
colony, financial support weakened. In 1615, it 



THE LAND OF TOBACCO 99 

was necessary to conduct a lottery in order to 
make up the deficit caused by the withdrawal of 
subscriptions. Dale's rigors, too, had given rise 
to unceasing complaints. 

In May, 1616, Captain George Yeardley, then 
in Virginia, was appointed to succeed Gates as 
Deputy Governor. This took the supreme power 
out of the hands of Dale. The High Marshal left 
at once for England, and there is no doubt that 
the colonists were glad to see him go. 

Yet Dale had accomplished much. The Indians 
had been kept in submission, mutiny had ceased, 
strong forts had been built, hundreds of acres 
cleared and scores of colonial farms were self-sup- 
porting. But the High Marshal, like his prede- 
cessors, had no power over the cHmate. Of the 
more than a thousand people who had come during 
his rule, there were but 351 alive when he sailed 
for home. 

An interesting passenger also was on board. 
This was Pocahontas, who, with her husband, 
John Rolfe, was on her way to England. Owing 
to the misunderstood idea of Powhatan's impor- 
tance (he had been named *' Emperor'' and 
crowned by John Smith at the insistence of the 
Company) the young Indian wife was acclaimed 
as a Princess, and was presented at court by Lady 
De La Warr. She was the sensation of London 
and was enormously feted, being known as '*La 
Belle Sauvage." 

All was ready for her return to her native coun- 



100 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

try the following year, but she died suddenly, just 
as the ship was leaving, and was buried near 
London. She left one son, Thomas, who was edu- 
cated in England and emigrated to Virginia, later. 
Many eminent Virginians trace their descent to 
Pocahontas, through Thomas RoKe. 

It would be a grave injustice, however, to allow 
Rolfe's memory to be attached only to the Poca- 
hontas romance. His work for the colony was not 
second in importance to that of any man. He per- 
formed the apparently miraculous task, not only 
of making Virginia pay, but of finding in those 
tide- water swamps a source of wealth greater than 
any gold-mine. 

This was tobacco, and around the question of 
tobacco hangs all the later history of Virginia. 

Tobacco was first made known to Europe by the 
Spaniards. Lane, governor of the first permanent 
colony, at Roanoke, was th^ first Englishman to 
use the weed. When he was rescued by Drake, it 
was in Drake's ship that the first supply was 
brought to England in 1588. 

The tobacco habit spread rapidly, especially in 
the English court, where Raleigh set the fashion. 
Pope Urban VIII issued a Bull against it, James I 
published his famous * ^ Counterblast against To- 
bacco. ' ' 

These attacks were all in vain. In Spain, in 
England and in Holland, the demand for tobacco 
grew apace. Spain found in her West Indian and 
Central American possessions a new source of 



THE LAND OF TOBACCO 101 

wealth, England was not so favored, for tlie 
crude tobacco brought from Virginia as prepared 
by the Indians was little esteemed because of its 
bitter pungency. 

Rolfe, realizing that good tobacco sold in Eng- 
land for twelve shilhngs (equal to about $11 now) 
per pound, set to work to improve the character 
of Virginia tobacco. He planted his first field 
in 1612, and spent much time in experiments as 
to the best method of curing the leaf. In 1616, a 
consignment from his plantation was sold at a 
price not much lower than that of good Spanish 
tobacco. That sale clinched the English coloniza- 
tion of Virginia, and determined the lines along 
which it should develop. 

Dale, despite his esteem for Rolf e, did not look 
kindly on tobacco. He regarded smoking as a 
passing fad, and, fearing lest food-supplies should 
diminish, he ordered that no farmer should set out 
this crop until he had put two-thirds of his land 
in corn. This prohibition did not extend to the 
large tracts of land owned by knights and gentle- 
men. Such took to tobacco-planting extensively. 

In the treaty made with Powhatan at the time 
of Pocahontas' marriage, Dale had provided that 
the natives should be relieved from any further 
exactions on the condition of a tax of two and a 
half bushels of corn per Indian. As this demand 
was not excessive, it secured peace for eight years, 
and allowed the extension of the tobacco plan- 
tations. 



102 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Upon Dale's departure, which coincided with 
the sale of Eolfe's well-cured tobacco at a high 
price, every farmer and laborer turned his corn 
land into the new crop. Yeardley, the new deputy 
governor, allowed and even encouraged the change. 
In the spring of 1617 the market-place of James- 
town, and even the borders of the streets, were 
set with tobacco. 

In London, the Company was beset with internal 
troubles. Two antagonistic parties developed. 
One was the Court Party, headed by the Earl of 
Warwick, which was in favor of martial law and 
Dale's slave-driving policy; the other was the 
Country Party, headed by Sir Thomas Smythe 
and Sir Edwin Sandys, which demanded a new 
charter and the establishment of all settlers as 
free citizens. 

The Country Party won the day, and the Third 
Charter — though severely attacked in Parliament 
— became effective November 30, 1616. Argall 
was appointed to succeed Yeardley, with instruc- 
tions to abolish Dale's martial laws, to give fifty 
acres to every settler, and to remove all restric- 
tions against visiting England. 

Argall had always been headstrong and un- 
scrupulous, vices which had not brought him into 
any trouble when subordinate to men of authority 
like De La Warr, Gates or Dale, but which proved 
his bane when at last he was given power. He 
ignored the instructions, continued the slavery 
system, used his office for extortion and denied 



THE LAND OF TOBACCO 103 

to others the rights to tobacco-planting which he 
seized for himself. 

After Argall had been in control for a year, the 
Company sent Lord De La Warr to arrest him 
and to reassume charge of the colony. Touching 
at the Azores on the way, Lord De La Warr and 
thirty of his companions fell sick and died so 
strangely that the Spaniards were commonly sup- 
posed to have poisoned them. The ship reached 
JamestoAvn and the order for arrest fell into Ar- 
galPs hands. As no other Deputy Governor had 
been appointed, however, he continued in power 
for nearly a year more. 

Then Romance shifted her seat from Virginia 
to London. 

The young son of Sir Thomas Smythe, head of 
the Country Party in the Virginia Company, fell 
desperately in love with Lady Isabella Rich, sis- 
ter of the Earl of Warwick. The old merchant 
explosively refused his consent to his son's mar- 
riage. A dramatic elopement was succeeded by a 
private wedding, at which the Earls of Southamp- 
ton and Pembroke and the Countess of Bedford 
were present. 

This elopement wrought great changes in Vir- 
ginia. The Earl of Warwick, furious that a mer- 
chant should dare to oppose Lady Rich's mar- 
riage, temporarily deserted the Court Party and 
threw his influence with one of the wings of the 
Country Party which was dissatisfied with 
Smythe 's leadership. Smythe was thrown out of 



104 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

office and Sir Edwin Sandys — famous for his defi- 
ance of James I — ^was made Treasurer. 

The results in the colony were immediate. 
Yeardley was appointed Governor, to succeed 
Lord De La Warr, and he was sent post-haste to 
arrest Argall. The latter fled from Virgina be- 
fore Yeardley ^s arrival and made good his excuses 
to the Company. As an opponent of Sandys, 
whom the King detested, he was even knighted. 

Sandys loved liberty as much as he hated the 
King. He was one of the many Englishmen of that 
time who resented the would-be autocracy of the 
Stuarts, and who stood fast to the Constitution. 
It is to be remembered that the liberties won by 
the English colonies in America came from the 
English people, not from the Crown. 

Yeardley brought with him explicit instructions 
for the convening of a General Assembly, which 
came to be known as the *^ House of Burgesses.^' 
It continued without interruption until 1776 and 
was the first local legislative government in Amer- 
ica. Its power was not absolute, for its acts were 
not valid until approved by the Company, in Lon- 
don ; on the other hand, acts initiated by the Com- 
pany had no force unless approved by the House 
of Burgesses. 

James I disliked Smythe, hated Sandys and will- 
ingly accepted the Spanish ambassador's descrip- 
tion of the House of Burgesses as ^*a seminary of 
sedition.'' In 1620, he sent messengers to the an- 
nual meeting of the Company forbidding the re- 



THE LAND OF TOBACCO 105 

election of Sandys. The Company flatly denied 
the King^s right to interfere, but Sandys feared 
that an open break might lose to Virginia all that 
had been gained and withdrew his name. The 
Earl of Southampton, known to be fully in agree- 
ment with Sandys' pohcy, was elected. 

Parliament was summoned in 1621, several of 
its members being stockholders in the Virginia 
Company. The parliament refused to do what 
James I demanded, impeached the Lord Chancel- 
lor for bribery and vigorously denounced the royal 
efforts to catch a royal bride. 

The King told Parliament to mind its own busi- 
ness. The Commons replied **that their privi- 
leges were not the gift of the Crown, but the nat- 
ural birthright of English subjects, and that mat- 
ters of public interest were within their province. ' ' 
The enraged monarch dissolved Parliament in 
January, 1622, sent Southampton, Pym and others 
to prison, and thus sowed the seeds of that revolt 
against the Stuart kings which was to cost Charles 
I his head. 

Next year, friends of the King laid before the 
Privy Council a terrible indictment of affairs in 
Virginia. They declared that Jamestown was a 
pest-hole, that hundreds of Enghsh subjects were 
held in partial slavery, that the houses were flimsy 
and unsanitary, that the food-supply was precari- 
ous and that no signs of gold or silver had been 
found. Most of this was true, but the statements 
were exaggerated by rancor and malice. 



106 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

A Royal Commission of Investigation was sent 
to Virginia, the commissioners including Argall, 
the bitterest enemy of Sandys. Its report was 
scathing. In October, 1623, the Privy Council 
recommended that the Company's charter be can- 
celed and that the King should resume personal 
control of Virginia. The Company appealed to 
Parliament, in vain. On June 10, 1624, the Lord 
Chief Justice declared the Virginia Charter null 
and void. 

The King proceeded to draw up an entirely new 
plan of government for Virginia, abolishing the 
House of Burgesses, but, before this could be put 
into effect, death put an end to his scheming. 
None the less, the deed was done. The Company 
was extinct. Virginia had become a Crown 
Colony. ^ 

Charles I was no fonder of representative gov- 
ernment than was his father, but he needed money, 
and the royal tax on the Virginia tobacco crop 
had become important. He did not want to kill a 
goose which laid such golden eggs. He sent Yeard- 
ley as Royal Governor, thus pleasing Sandys and 
the colonists, and addressed the colonial parlia- 
ment as ^*Our trusty and well-beloved Burgesses 
of the Grand Assembly of Virginia,'' thus offi- 
cially recognizing representative government in 
the colony. 

Tobacco had become the commercial backbone of 
Virginia, tobacco caused the party strife in the 
Company, tobacco was the bait which Charles I 



THE LAND OF TOBACCO 107 

swallowed when he accepted the House of Bur- 
gesses. It was no wonder. In 1622 sixty thou- 
sand pounds of tobacco were exported, worth 
a quarter of a million dollars of modern money. 
Such exports reveal a very different state of af- 
fairs from that prior to 1616, when the settlers 
were unable to raise enough food to feed them- 
selves. 

The success of the tobacco crop was made pos- 
sible by the importation of * ^ servants, ' ^ better de- 
scribed as indentured plantation hands. These 
were drawn from all ranks of society, but were 
mainly ^^ beggars and vagabonds.'' This phrase, 
however, conveys a false impression. It meant, 
simply, the unemployed, such as soldiers and sail- 
ors released by the ending of the war, farmers 
who had lost their farms, agricultural and indus- 
trial laborers out of work. 

The severity of the laws against them, how- 
ever, proves that they were regarded as a men- 
ace. Ajiy man or woman found wandering on the 
highway was to be seized, stripped naked to the 
waist, *^and openly whipped until his or her body 
were bloody. ' ' Imprisonment or exile was awarded 
for a second offense. All such could be — and often 
were — indentured as *^ servants" in Virginia. 
Convicted criminals had the choice of hard labor 
or emigration. Waifs and strays in the city 
streets were bound out as *^ apprentices." Thus 
was labor secured on the tobacco plantations. 

There was, however, a brighter side to the pic- 



108 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

ture. Indentures varied both as to length and 
conditions of service. Volunteers served only two 
years. Hardened criminals might serve seven 
years, or even ten. In general, indentures were for 
five years. At the end of that period the ** serv- 
ant" became free, and received clothing, food and 
tools to the value of ten pounds sterling (now 
about $250). Land could be got on very easy 
terms. Workers who survived the toil and the cli- 
mate might be reasonably sure of becoming their 
own masters, a hope which life in England could 
not hold out to them. 

Fairer cargoes than these, too, had come to Vir- 
ginia. The year 1619, which saw the establish- 
ment of the House of Burgesses, witnessed also 
the trans-shipment of young English girls for 
wives. Ninety would-be brides arrived in that 
year, and many more in the years following. 

These ** Sandys maids,'' as they were known, 
might be chosen by any settler who could pay the 
cost of their transportation, estimated at 120 
pounds of tobacco (a fluctuating figure, between 
$600 and $900 in the values of to-day). The giris 
were under contract to marry, and could not re- 
fuse to do so, but, as there were many suitors for 
each, the maids had plenty of choice. The system 
worked admirably, though, in that unhealthful 
climate, the young wives died fast. 

The onward progress of the colony was checked 
by the Indian massacre of 1622. The attack was 
most unexpected. Powhatan had died in 1618 and 



THE LAND OF TOBACCO 109 

his brother Opechancanough became war-chief of 
the confederacy. In 1621, the new leader prepared 
a widespread plot against the English. Yeardley 
learned of it, fortified the plantation and sent a 
threat that the slightest hostile move would be 
answered by swift and sweeping vengeance. 

That year, however, Yeardley was succeeded by 
Sir Francis Wyatt. In March, 1622, a young In- 
dian called Nemmattanow, but better known as 
**Jack-o'-the-Feather,'^ slew a white man and 
was himself slain. Wyatt feared trouble, but Ope- 
chancanough was treacherously polite and de- 
clared that ^^he held the peace so firm that the 
sky should fall before he broke it. ' ' 

The story of the massacre was written by John 
Smith. 

**0n the Friday morning, that fatal day, being 
the two-and-twentieth of March,'' he wrote, '*as 
also in the evening before, as at other times the In- 
dians came unarmed into our houses, with deer, 
wild turkeys, fish, fruits and other provisions to 
sell us. Yea, in some places they sat down at 
breakfast with our people, who, immediately, with 
their own tools they slew most barbarously, not 
sparing either age or sex, man, woman or child; 
so sudden was their execution that few or none 
discerned the weapon or the blow that brought 
them to destruction. 

*^In which manner, also, they slew many of our 
people at their several works in the fields, well 
knowing in what places and quarters each of our 



110 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

men were, in regard of their familiarity with us, 
which we permitted for the effecting of that great 
masterpiece of work, their conversion. By this 
means fell that fatal morning 347 men, women 
and children, mostly by their own weapons. Not 
being content with their lives, the Indians fell 
again upon the dead bodies, making as well as they 
could a fresh murder, defacing, dragging and 
mangling their dead carcasses into many pieces, 
and carrying some parts away in derision, with 
base and brutish triumph. ' ' 

The wholesale extermination of the English had 
been the purpose of Opechancanough, and, but for 
the betrayal of his plan by one Indian, there would 
not have been a white man ahve in Virginia by 
sunset of that day. 

Shortly before midnight, the brother of a 
friendly Indian who was employed by a settler 
named Pace brought his fellow-tribesman the or- 
ders of the chief, telling him the hour at which 
Pace should be slain. When his brother had gone, 
the friendly Indian awakened his master and be- 
trayed the plot. Pace leaped from his bed, rowed 
across the river to Jamestown, reaching there 
just before dawn, and gave the alarm. Wyatt in- 
stantly sent couriers to the plantations in every 
direction and thereby saved thousands of lives. 

Opechancanough had done badly in stirring up 
the English. The shape of the colony, long and 
narrow (from Hampton Roads to Eichmond and 
for many miles up the York River), made it open 



THE LAND OF TOBACCO 111 

to Indian attack. But it also afforded a strong 
base from which to punish. 

The settlers began a ruthless and terrible re- 
venge. They slew and they hunted, they hunted 
and they slew. They wiped out every Indian vil- 
lage in the vicinity. They pursued the redskins 
with the ferocity of wild beasts. By the time the 
colonists abandoned the blood-chase, Opechan- 
canough was left with but a sorry remnant of 
his people. 

This vengeful punishment served its purpose. 
Not an Indian arrow was loosed at a white man 
in the colony for more than twenty years. 

Despite the massacre, Virginia had thriven dur- 
ing those decisive years between 1619 and 1625. 
Tobacco plantations were numerous. Much capi- 
tal had been invested. Labor was plentiful. 
Sandys' maids made excellent wives and social 
Life had begun. Churches were solidly estab- 
lished at a dozen points. Schools were organized 
in 1621. In 1622 a College (now known as Wil- 
liam and Mary College) was on the point of be- 
ing founded when George Thorpe, sent out to be 
its first president, was slain^ in the Opechan- 
canough massacre. 

Yet a black pall hung over all — the pall of pes- 
tilence. Tide-water Virginia, fertile and luxuri- 
ant, was a breeding-spot of disease. Even those 
who survived were racked by the *^ shivering 
ague, ' ' and six months of ^ ' chills and fever ' ^ were 
the annual portion of every settler. 



112 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

And they who survived were few. The records 
show that, between the years 1606 and 1625, some 
5645 emigrants left England for Virginia. Of 
these, only 1095 persons (1232 and 1227 in other 
accounts) were left alive in the spring of 1625. 
Eighty-eight persons out of every hundred had 
perished from disease or starvation or had been 
killed by Indians. 

Viewed in the light of later history, these deaths 
were involuntary martyrdoms in a glorious 
cause. The early settlers established the English 
in Virginia, carved out a wealth-bearing colony 
from a fetid swamp, established the first repre- 
sentative assembly on American soil, and rooted 
firmly in the New World that desire for a just 
freedom which is the chief heritage of the English- 
speaking race. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE KENT ISLAND FIGHT 

The success of Virgina brought rivalry, and 
when the tobacco crop proved to Englishmen that 
there was a chance of making money over-seas, 
an enormous impetus was given to colonization. 
One of the new ventures was the founding of 
Maryland, the interests of which clashed with Vir- 
ginia and led to fighting along the border. 

Virginia began as an Elizabethan adventure un- 
der the urging of Ealeigh, continued as a trading 
post in the hands of a joint-stock company, and 
became a Eoyal Colony as soon as the tobacco 
crop ensured a handsome profit. Maryland began 
as a feudal state. It owed its origin solely to the 
desire of Lord Baltimore to found a Roman Catho- 
lic colony for Englishmen. 

George Calvert, afterwards Lord Baltimore, son 
of a Yorkshire farmer, was bom in 1580. He was 
a scholar and a writer and his open support of the 
project of James I to marry his son Charles to a 
Spanish princess won him the favor of the King. 
In 1619 he was appointed Secretary of State with 
the arrangement of the marriage as his chief task. 
His religious position was that of an outward 

113 



114. THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

conforming to the Church of England with a 
strong leaning toward Roman Catholicism. 

Lord Baltimore had been interested in the colo- 
nization of America from the very start. He 
had been a member of the Virginia Company 
since 1609. Being an appointee of the King, he 
sided with the Court Party against Smythe, San- 
dys and Southampton. He was shrewd enough 
to see that the Sandys Party was in the ascen- 
dant and would never agree to his feudal plans, 
nor show favor to Roman Catholics. 

There was need for such a colony. The laws 
of England against Roman Catholics were unbe- 
lievably strict, but, like all excessive laws, they 
had brought about their own neglect. Roman 
Catholics were forbidden to become lawyers or 
teachers, they must attend English Church serv- 
ices or pay ruinous fines, failing which they were 
banished. Two-thirds of their lands might be 
confiscated. All priests were to be hunted out 
of the country and some who did not go were 
drawn and quartered. Every suspected man was 
compelled to take the Oath of Supremacy, which 
stated that the King was the Head of the Church 
and denied that the Pope had power over English 
subjects. 

Laws of so drastic a character are rarely made 
for religious reasons only, but are generally as- 
sociated with a suspicion of treason. It was so 
in this case. 

During the reign of Elizabeth, Roman Catho- 



THE KENT ISLAND FIGHT 115 

lies were suspected because the Pope had excom- 
municated the Queen, and because the war with 
Spain was a religious war. None the less, the 
Roman CathoHcs of England showed no lack of 
patriotism. 

During the reigns of the first two Stuart kings, 
Parliament suspected the Eoman Catholics "of 
making treacherous advances to Spain. The 
Spanish marriage project of James I heightened 
this suspicion. The English people did not want 
a Roman Catholic king on the throne. 

There were, therefore, both the laws and the 
force of public opinion to make life in England 
unpleasant for the Roman Catholics, and Amer- 
ica appeared to offer a haven of refuge. Virginia 
would not serve, for it was rigid in its adherence 
to the English Church. Another colony must be 
found. 

In 1620 Lord Baltimore secured a grant for the 
southern peninsula of Newfoundland, and, the fol- 
lowing year, he sent thither one ship with a few 
colonists and some supplies. In March, 1623, he 
received a royal charter for this region, to which 
he gave the name of Avalon. Next year, he re- 
signed his office as Secretary of State on the 
ground that he had become a Roman Catholic, and 
immediately after was elevated to the peerage. 
James I died a few days after the gift of a title to 
his favorite on whom he had already bestowed 
a vast Irish estate near Cape Clear. From a vil- 
lage on this estate came the name ''Baltimore.'' 



116 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

The plans for the Roman Catholic colony pushed 
forward. In 1627, Lord Baltimore went to New- 
foundland with Lady Baltimore and his children. 
But he was bitterly disappointed in his venture. 
It was not always summer in Avalon. In 1629, 
he wrote to Charles I, who had remained his warm 
friend, as follows: 

*^I have met with difficulties and encumbrances 
here in this place which are no longer to be re- 
sisted, but enforce me presently to quit my resi- 
dence and to shift to some other warmer climate 
of the New World, where the winters be shorter 
and less rigorous. 

'*For here Your Majesty may please to under- 
stand that I have found — by too dear-bought ex- 
perience . . . that from the middle of October to 
the middle of May there is a sad fare of winter 
upon all this land ; both sea and land being frozen 
for the greater part of the time as they are not 
penetrable, nor plant or vegetable appearing out 
of the earth until the beginning of May, nor fish 
in the sea; beside, the air is so intolerable cold 
as is hardly to be endured. By means whereof, 
and of much salt meat, my house hath been a hos- 
pital all this winter; of a hundred persons, fifty 
sick at a time, myself being one, and nine or ten 
of them have died. . . . 

**To further, the best I may, the enlarging of 
Your Majesty's empire in this part of the world, 
I am determined to commit this place to fishermen 
that are able to encounter storms and hard 



THE KENT ISLAND FIGHT 117 

weather, and to remove myself with some forty 
persons to Your Majesty ^s dominion, Virginia; 
where, if Your Majesty will please to grant me a 
precinct of land, with such privileges as the King 
your father was pleased to grant me here, I shall 
endeavor to the utmost of my power to deserve 
it." 

Before an answer to this letter could be re- 
ceived. Lord Baltimore sailed for Virginia, arriv- 
ing in Jamestown on October 1, 1629, where he 
found the House of Burgesses in session. 

There had been changes in officials in Virginia, 
during the preceding four years, but no altera- 
tions in policy. Yeardley, Harvey and West had 
been governors in succession. During a period 
when West had been called to England by busi- 
ness, and Harvey had not yet arrived. Dr. John 
Pott had acted as Deputy Governor. 

Pott was one of the queer types of brilliant 
but unsuccessful men who found their way to the 
colonies. He was a learned man and an excellent 
physician, but he was over-fond of Hquor and none 
too scrupulous. When Harvey arrived, he was 
compelled to arrest the Acting Governor for par- 
doning a convicted murderer, and for steaHng cat- 
tle, himself. 

There was no doubt as to Pott's guilt. Harvey, 
instead of proceeding to extreme measures, or- 
dered the ex-official to be confined to his house, and 
wrote to Charles I for instructions, pointing out 
that Pott was the ablest doctor in the colony, and 



118 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

urging a royal pardon. This was granted and 
the convivial doctor resumed his practice. 

Dr. Pott was still Acting Governor when Lord 
Baltimore sailed up the James River. The noble- 
man's reception was as frosty as the Newfound- 
land shores he had left. Pott was frankly hostile 
and rude. The Virginians were staunch English 
Churchmen, and they looked with suspicion on 
Roman CathoUcs. They stood for the Constitu- 
tion, and Lord Baltimore had been a favorite of 
the King. 

The House of Burgesses wanted to get rid of 
this unwelcome visitor as quickly as possible. 
They had a very easy device all ready to their 
hands. This was the Oath of Supremacy, which 
no Roman Catholic was willing to take. 

Lord Baltimore proposed a substitute form of 
declaration. The House of Burgesses refused to 
accept it, and ordered the nobleman to leave the 
colony. He remained until the spring, however, 
and sailed to England soon after Harvey's arrival. 
Thus Virginia lost one of the ablest men who had 
stepped on her shores, but Virginia's loss was 
America's gain. 

When he landed in England, Lord Baltimore 
found that the territory he coveted, from Florida 
to Roanoke, had already been granted on October 
30, 1629, to Sir Robert Heath, under the name 
of ** Carolina." He petitioned, therefore for the 
land between Roanoke and the James River, but 
the Virginians, headed by Claiborne and West, 



THE KENT ISLAND FIGHT 119 

protested so strongly that the grant was denied. 

Lord Baltimore, however, was determined to 
have a colony of his own and he held an order from 
Charles I for ^^any part of Virginia not already 
granted. '^ After two years of incessant effort he 
received a patent for the territory between the 
southern bank of the Potomac Eiver and 40° (the 
latitude of Philadelphia). This was first called by 
the King ^'Mariana,'' after Queen Henrietta 
Maria, but the name was later changed by him to 
** Maryland.'' 

The Virginians rose in wrath. Only the year 
before William Claiborne had planted a small 
plantation on Kent Island, and this plantation 
was represented in the House of Burgesses by a 
delegate. Kent Island was fifty miles north of 
the southern border of the territory granted to 
Lord Baltimore. The Jamestown men insisted 
that, by the old charter — which had been annulled 
— Kent Island was in their territory and that the 
frontier of Maryland was an invasion on their 
rights. 

The King referred the question to the Eoyal 
Commissioners for Foreign Plantations. On 
July 3, 1633, the Commissioner confirmed Lord 
Baltimore's grant, since the annulment of the old 
charter left the King free to dispose of unoccupied 
territory as he wished. Kent Island was declared 
to be a trading post, not a plantation, but Lord 
Baltimore was restrained from interfering with 
Claiborne's settlement or his trade. 



120 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Claiborne left London, breathing defiance of 
the King, the Royal Commissioners and Lord Bal- 
timore, and frankly avowing that **he would fight 
for Kent Island with the last drop of his blood ! ' ' 

The Maryland grant, as finally approved, was 
made out to Cecelius Calvert, second Lord Bal- 
timore. The first Lord Baltimore had died while 
negotiations were in progress, without knowing 
whether his long-desired aim would be achieved. 

The Maryland government was of a curious 
pattern. It was a palatinate, an ancient kind of 
minor kingdom situated on frontiers and possess- 
ing both military independence and the right to 
make its own laws. James I had given Avalon 
to the first Lord Baltimore as a palatinate, be- 
cause Newfoundland was claimed by the French, 
and Avalon was a frontier state. Charles I gave 
Maryland to the second Lord Baltimore as a palat- 
inate, because its territory ran north to what 
is now New Jersey and Pennsylvania, then held 
by the Dutch, thus making Maryland a frontier 
state. Carolina began on the same pattern, be- 
cause it was a frontier state to the Spanish in 
Florida. 

Lord Baltimore, indeed, was King of Maryland 
in all save the name. He could issue laws without 
calling the Assembly, and no laws were valid 
without his signature. He could coin money, grant 
titles of nobility, create courts, appoint judges and 
pardon criminals. Taxation was in his hands, not 
in that of the English Crown. 



THE KENT ISLAND FIGHT 121 

It was the earnest intention of the second Lord 
Baltimore personally to lead his colonists to Mary- 
land, even as his father had led a party to New- 
foundland. He did not dare do so. His enemies 
were too numerous and too powerful. The Vir- 
ginians held his grant unlawful, the English 
Church party opposed the granting of favors to 
Eoman Catholics, the Puritans cried out against 
the establishment of ^^ papistry'' in America, and 
Parliament regarded the palatinate as unconsti- 
tutional. Lord Baltimore was compelled to stay 
at home to steer his colony through these troubled 
political waters. 

Fortunately for Maryland, the Lord Proprietor 
had an excellent man available for Governor. 
This was his brother, Leonard Calvert, through 
whom he was able to establish the principle of re- 
ligious toleration for which Maryland is famous. 
The colony was definitely Roman Catholic in 
leadership, but Lord Baltimore commanded most 
emphatically that no cause of offense should be 
given to any Protestant and specified ^*all acts 
of Roman Catholic religion to be done as privately 
as may be . . . all Roman Catholics to be silent 
upon all occasions of discourse concerning mat- 
ters of religion." 

In October, 1633, two ships, the Ark and the 
Dove, sailed from London. The emigrants con- 
sisted of 20 gentlemen adventurers, who, with the 
governor and the two councilors, were Roman 



122 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Catholics, and of 300 artisans and laborers, of 
whom the larger number were Trotestants. 

The sailing of the Ark and the Dove gave rise to 
the wildest rumors. Hot-heads and Puritans de- 
clared that Calvert was sailing for America under 
a secret agreement between Charles I and Spain ; 
the Virginians alleged that the purpose was to 
set up a Roman Catholic colony in which Span- 
iards would be welcomed and which was to serve 
as a base for the capture of Virginia. Such ru- 
mors alarmed the public. A Star Chamber writ 
of seizure was secured and Admiral Pennington, 
commanding the Channel fleet, stopped Calvert's 
ships at Dover. 

The scare came to nothing. The emigrants took 
the Oath of Supremacy without the slightest out- 
ward objection. The papers of the expedition 
were in perfect order. The grant could not be 
questioned. Governor Calvert bore a personal 
letter from Charles I to Governor Harvey of Vir- 
ginia. The ships started again on November 22, 
1633, took the lengthy West Indies route and 
reached Old Point Comfort on February 27, 1634. 

The royal letter ensured a courteous official re- 
ception at Jamestown, though the Virginians had 
little love for the Maryland settlers. Cattle, hogs 
and poultry were purchased and the Ark and the 
Dove passed on to the shores of the Potomac 
Eiver. On March 23, 1634, the settlers landed at 
St. Clement's Island and one of the Jesuit priests 
celebrated there the first mass said in English 



THE KENT ISLAND FIGHT 123 

America. As it was punishable with death to cele- 
brate mass on English soil, this action was sig- 
niiicant. 

Many historians assert that Lord Baltimore had 
a secret understanding with Charles I. It is more 
probable that he and Calvert were shrewd enough, 
to see what would be gained by strict impartial- 
ity. The only two troubles of a religious char- 
acter were made by Roman Catholics and the Ro- 
man Catholic Governor punished the offenders. 
Church property paid taxes. The priests did mar- 
velous missionary work among the Indians and 
converted most of the Protestants who immi- 
grated. But any effort on the part of the Jesuits 
to interfere with secular matters was sternly put 
down, and the special privileges they had arro- 
gated to themselves were taken away. 

Maryland flourished from the start. The first 
settlement, which was named St. Mary's, was on 
the George River, nine miles from its junction 
with the Potomac. Its site was chosen as wisely 
as that of Jamestown was selected unwisely. The 
place was already occupied by a Yacomoco Indian 
village, surrounded by corn-fields. 

Calvert bought all the huts and aU the cleared 
land, giving knives, axes, hoes and cloth in re- 
turn and paying fairly for value received. Also, 
he hired many of the Indians, some as laborers' 
some as hunters, others as fishers. These, too' 
were honorably paid. The Maryland settlers thus 
became the protectors and benefactors of the In- 



124 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

dians, whereas the Virginia settlers had been in- 
vaders and foes. 

The immediate result of this Indian friendli- 
ness was that, in the very first year, the colonists 
of St. Mary^s harvested so large a crop of com 
that they had a ship-load to spare. This they sent 
to New England to trade for salt fish and other 
provision. They could also trade with Virginia 
for supplies. Prosperity was immediate and 
high-grade colonists volunteered. 

Maryland, it is to be remembered, was a palat- 
inate, and Lord Baltimore's plans were feudal. 
He created ** manors,'* which were lordships on a 
small scale. But the actual conditions of life in 
America prevented the building up of an aristoc- 
racy. The tobacco plantations were large and 
far apart. Industrious ^^ servants'' became f reed- 
men, and mechanics soon earned enough to be- 
come land-owners. The Assembly developed 
along democratic lines, while keeping to the out- 
ward form of the palatinate. 

In spite of Maryland's prosperity, trouble was 
in the air. Claiborne was still breathing revenge. 
The Kent Island sore still rankled. Maryland and 
Virginia hung on the verge of war. 

When Governor Calvert landed at Jamestown 
with the Ark and the Dove, in February, 1634, 
one of his first acts was to notify Claiborne to 
abandon his claim to Kent Island. Claiborne re- 
fused. The House of Burgesses supported him. 
Then Governor Harvey of Virginia who was a 



THE KENT ISLAND FIGHT 125 

Royal Governor and therefore an appointee of 
the King, opposed the House of Burgesses, dis- 
missed Claiborne from office and appointed a 
friend of Lord Baltimore in his stead. This en- 
raged the Virginians against their own Governor. 

Calvert, who was under rigid instruction to 
keep the peace, sailed north without further 
threats. He ignored Kent Island, and gave his 
time to the development of his colony. 

Claiborne, however, had other enemies besides 
the Marylanders. As the Royal Commissioners 
had pointed out, Kent Island was not a plantation 
but a trading post, and Claiborne was in partner- 
ship with some London merchants who had pro- 
cured for him a royal Hcense to trade in furs and 
to establish trading posts in any unoccupied part 
of North America. This was not a monopoly. 
There was a rival fur trading company in Lon- 
don, which had engaged Captain Fleet to go to 
Virginia for the purpose of ousting Claiborne and 
taking the entire fur trade for itself. 

Fleet started a rumor that Claiborne was in- 
flaming the Indians to attack the Marylanders. 
According to this version, Claiborne had informed 
the Indians that the men of the Calvert colony 
were ^* papist Spaniards, not Protestant English- 
men ^ * and therefore enemies to the Virginians and 
their Indian allies. 

There was neither proof nor likelihood that 
Claiborne had started any such dangerous pro- 
ceeding, but the fur company which sought the 



126 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Virginian's downfall saw to it that the rumor 
reached the ears of Lord Baltimore in London. 
Accordingly, the Lord Proprietor prepared an 
order to Governor 'Calvert, instructing him to go 
to Kent Island and arrest Claiborne. 

The opposing company of fur merchants 
promptly petitioned the King, pointing out that 
royal orders had been issued enjoining peace be- 
tween Virginia and Maryland. Charles I imme- 
diately warned Lord Baltimore from ^'interrupt- 
ing the people of Kent Island in their fur trade 
or plantation. ' ' 

Fleet's men, supported by the Marylanders, and 
Claiborne's men, backed by the Virginians, lived 
in a continual feud. Each month that passed saw 
Maryland and Virginia more embittered with each 
other. Early in April, 1635, one of Claiborne's 
ships was captured by Fleet in what were claimed 
to be Maryland waters and the ship and cargo 
were confiscated. 

So far, Claiborne had refrained from open war- 
fare, but this was too much. With a handful of 
men he determined to invade Maryland, hoping to 
lead Virginia to follow him into war. He sent an 
armed sloop, the Cockatrice with instructions to 
destroy all such Maryland shipping as she could 
find. 

Calvert was not to be caught napping. He 
knew Claiborne's pugnacious character and ex- 
pected just such an action. Accordingly, the very 
day after the confiscation of Claiborne's ship, he 



THE KENT ISLAND FIGHT 127 

sent tvvo armed pinnaces to guard his outlying 
plantations. The pinnaces met the Cockatrice in 
the Pocomoke River. Claiborne's men opened fire 
and a brisk fight occurred, in which the Cockatrice 
was captured, with six men killed and many 
wounded. 

The seizure of the Cockatrice enraged Virginia. 
An indignation meeting was held at Jamestown, 
the principal speaker being Nicholas Martain, an 
ancestor of George Washington. Resolutions 
were passed to call a meeting of the House of Bur- 
gesses to receive complaints against Governor 
Harvey, for treason to the colony in the Kent Is- 
land affair and for other causes, beside. 

Next morning, Martain and other popular lead- 
ers were arrested. When they demanded the 
cause of their arrest. Governor Harvey replied 
that *^they should find out at the gallows. '' 

Two days later, the Council met. Harvey de- 
manded that Martain and the other prisoners 
should be put to death under martial law. The 
Council refused, insisting that the laws of Vir- 
ginia guaranteed to every man a fair trial. The 
Governor promptly arrested one of the council- 
lors ^'on suspicion of treason.'' Two other of 
the councillors seized the Governor on the same 
charge. Armed patriots were in waiting. Harvey 
was seized, escorted to his house and held there 
a prisoner. On May 7, the House of Burgesses ap- 
proved the acts of the Council. 

Meantime, Claiborne was fighting his own bat- 



128 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

ties. After a couple of little skirmislies, in which 
he got the best of it, he came out in force against 
Governor Calvert, an island trading post against 
a large colony. The two fleets of small craft met 
in the harbor of Great Wighcocomoco and action 
was joined at once. Claiborne, after several hours 
of fighting, defeated the Marylanders with con- 
siderable loss of life. 

Although Claiborne had showed his ability to 
take care of himself, Virginia had got herself into 
trouble by her partisanship. Such a radical ac- 
tion as dismissing a Boyal Governor could not be 
expected to please the King who had appointed 
him. Charles I was furious with the House of 
Burgesses and restored Harvey to his post. 

There was, however, a third complication in the 
Kent Island affair. Claiborne had secured his 
revenge, Virginia had been humbled by Charles 
I, but the London merchants, who cared only for 
furs, saw their profits vanishing and decided to 
abandon Claiborne. In December, 1636, they sent 
George Evelin as their agent to Kent Island. 
Evelin at first showed friendship to Claiborne, 
but when that fighter refused to listen to the Lon- 
don merchants and could think and talk of nothing 
but his personal grievances against the Maryland- 
ers, the new agent displayed his papers and 
claimed ownership of all Claiborne's stock in the 
company, without compensation. 

Claiborne, who could never be blamed for lack 
of daring, called together such of his men as were 



THE KENT ISLAND FIGHT 129 

faithful to him and sailed away. Apparently with 
the deliberate intention of annoying the Maryland- 
ers, he established another trading post in his ene- 
mies' territory, on Palmer Island, at the mouth 
of the Susquehanna River. After taking posses- 
sion of this place — to which he could claim no 
right whatever — he sailed for England. 

On Claiborne's departure, Evelin, acting for 
the London merchants, urged the Kent Islanders 
to abandon their leaders and to accept the pro- 
tection of Lord Baltimore, whereby they would 
better themselves. As all the men at the post were 
Virginians, and regarded themselves as an ad- 
vance garrison, they scorned this treacherous ad- 
vice. 

Upon this refusal, Evelin sent a message to 
Governor Calvert, urging him to come and take 
the island by force. The governor was unwilling 
to do so. But Evelin clearly let it be seen that 
Calvert's hesitation might be regarded by Lord 
Baltimore as weakness, and the governor of 
Maryland agreed to the seizure. In February, 
1638, he landed a small force by night and reduced 
the island to submission. 

The month following, the Maryland Assembly 
declared Claiborne a rebel and ordered that all his 
property be confiscated. Captain Thomas Smith, 
who had been in command of Claiborne's fleet at 
the battle of Great Wighcocomoco, was arrested, 
tried for piracy and murder, and hanged. This 
injustice is a sore blot on Calvert's reputation. 



130 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Virginia prepared for war. Calvert had been 
forbidden by the King to interfere with the trad- 
ing rights of Kent Island. Protestant Virgin- 
ians had been stripped of their rights and their 
property by Roman Catholic Marylanders. Civil 
strife would have begun at once if it had not been 
for the royalist governor of Virginia, who was a 
friend of the Marylanders, and who insisted that 
war should not be made without a royal order. 
This added to the hatred with which he was re- 
garded, but Harvey stood firm. 

On April 6, 1638, the Royal Commissioners as- 
signed Kent Island to Maryland and left the ques- 
tion of personal compensation to be decided by 
the courts. Claiborne returned to Virginia and 
began suit to recover his property, but the courts 
of Maryland declared that they could not receive 
a case brought by * ^ a declared rebel. ' ' Thus Kent 
Island and Palmer Island remained in the hands 
of Lord Baltimore, and Claiborne and his part- 
ners got nothing. 

Even so, there was a chance that the fighter of 
Kent Island would enforce his rights by bringing 
the power of Virginia to bear. Again Governor 
Harvey checked the popular move. He issued a 
proclamation, accepting Virginia 's loss of the dis- 
puted spot. This aroused so tremendous a storm 
against the governor that even the King was com- 
pelled to act. Wyatt was sent to depose Harvey, 
the ex-Governor ^s property was seized to satisfy 
his numerous creditors and he was sent home in 



THE KENT ISLAND FIGHT 131 

disgrace. Wyatt stayed but two years, when he 
gave place to Sir William Berkeley, with whose 
name the second phase of Virginia's history is in- 
separably connected. 

Such was the general feeling of mutual hatred 
between Virginia and Maryland, when civil war 
broke out in England between King and Parlia- 
ment. This civil war ended in the victory of the 
Puritans, the beheading of Charles I, and the es- 
tablishment of the Commonwealth under Oliver 
Cromwell. 

This revolution had an important influence on 
the American colonies, but CromwelPs power did 
not last long enough to alter the individual char- 
acters of such differing states as Virginia and 
Maryland. Both, however, had already drifted 
far from England ; their Americanization had be- 
gun. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE GALLANTRY OF FRANCE 

Eomance and suffering marked the adventuring 
of the English on American shores. Not less strik- 
ing were the adventures of the first French colo- 
nists and not less pitiful. 

England's claim to North America was not un- 
questioned. Men of an equally gallant race also 
were ready to plant their country's flag on a dis- 
tant shore, and were willing to agonize and die to 
keep it there. France 's claim was fully as good as 
that of England and for centuries it was doubt- 
ful which of the two great powers would become 
the master of the continent. 

The colonial policy of England was marked by 
a callous disregard of the rights of other nations. 
"When Elizabeth gave North America to Ealeigh, 
when James I gave continental Virginia to two 
trading companies, and when Charles I granted 
Carolina and Maryland to Sir Robert Heath and 
Lord Baltimore, the three monarchs bestowed land 
which was not theirs to give. 

The Spanish right was a century earlier than 
that of England ; the French right was half a cen- 
tury earlier. No effort was made by any of these 

132 



THE GALLANTRY OF FRANCE 133 

three nations to arbitrate each other's claims. 
The policy of grab prevailed universally. Each 
nation and each adventurer set out to seize what 
might be seized, and to maintain his holding either 
by force or trickery. 

The claims of France were based on more pio- 
neer work than that of England. The explora- 
tions of Verrazano might be offset by those of 
Cabot, but the French had acted upon their dis- 
coveries, while the English had not. French fish- 
ermen had long exploited the Newfoundland fish- 
eries before English ^ ' admirals ' ' bullied them into 
a partnership, and fur trading posts had been or- 
ganized by the merchants of St. Malo. 

It was on the work of Jacques Cartier, how- 
ever, that the French claim rested most solidly. 
On his Second Voyage, in 1534-1535, more than 
fifty years before the first English landing at Roa- 
noke, Cartier explored the Gulf and River of St. 
Lawrence, built a fort at Quebec, made friends 
with the Iroquois and remained a winter in the 
country. He thus led the way for the founding 
of New France. 

Five years later, on January 15, 1540, Francis 
I of France granted to the Sieur de Roberval the 
viceroyalty of North America. Roberval was 
named **Lord of Norumbega, Viceroy and Lieu- 
tenant-General of Canada, Hochelaga, Saguenay, 
Belle Isle, Carpunt, Labrador, the Great Bay and 
Baccalaos.'^ This territory extended from Mas- 
sachusetts to the North Pole, but this was sup- 



134. THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

posed to be the extreme northeast corner of Asia. 
At that time, Florida was still regarded as an 
eastward projection of China. 

Cartier, as Pilot-General for the King, was to 
aid Roberval in the establishment of the colony. 
Roberval bade him go in advance, promising to 
follow in a few weeks as soon as he had gathered 
supplies and men. Cartier set sail in May, 1541, 
and waited all summer for the coming of Roberval. 

This delay was dangerous. Cartier had come 
without supplies for a long stay and yet was com- 
pelled to remain through the winter. The In- 
dians showed signs of discontent. In the spring 
of 1542, Cartier set sail, rightly blaming Roberval 
for the winter's suffering and the deaths of many 
of his men. 

In the harbor of St. John's, Newfoundland, he 
met Roberval, who had just arrived. There was 
a stormy scene between the two men. Cartier 
was too angry at Roberval's delay to be willing 
to turn back, and he refused, point blank, to obey 
the Viceroy's orders. 

Cartier 's resentment had been heightened by 
the account of a pitiful story which had been told 
him by one of Roberval's officers, just before his 
audience with the Viceroy. This was that tragic 
incident known to history as **The Romance of 
Marguerite. ' ' 

Among 'the settlers on Roberval's flagship was 
his niece. Marguerite Roberval, twenty years of 
age and who had been brought up in comfort and 



THE GALLANTRY OF FRANCE 136 

luxury. She was a Roman Catholic. There was 
also on board the ship a young Huguenot (Protes- 
tant) gentleman, of good family, though poor. 
The two young people fell in love, and despite the 
rigid discipline on the ship, Marguerite's old 
nurse contrived secret meetings for the lovers. 

"VVTien Roberval learned of these meetings, he 
flamed mth rage. That his niece should have 
fallen in love was bad enough, that she should 
have pledged herself without her uncle's permis- 
sion was worse, but that the favored suitor should 
be a Protestant was beyond pardon. 

The vessel, at this time, was within sight of a 
small island, greatly dreaded by fishermen. This 
was known as *^The Isle of Fiends,'' for fishers 
reported that strange sounds w^ere constantly to 
be heard coming from it. 

Roberval ordered his captain to steer for the 
island and the flagship dropped her anchor there. 
He commanded that a small boat be put out. In 
this were placed Marguerite and her old nurse, 
with a few months' provisions, some guns and 
ammunition. The two women were set ashore and 
the boat rowed back to the ship. 

Dusk was falling when these victims of Rober- 
val's tyranny were marooned. The anchor of the 
flagship was raised. Just as the wind filled the 
vessel's sails and her bow turned again to the 
westward, there was a cry and a splash. The 
young Huguenot had leapt into the sea. Being a 
strong swimmer, he managed to make the land. 



136 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Before darkness blotted out the scene, the watch- 
ers on the flagship saw the young fellow reach the 
shore, throw one arm around his betrothed and 
brandish the other in defiance of Eoberval and 
all his crew. 

Upon the Isle of Fiends — later to be known as 
the Island of Marguerite — the summer passed 
pleasantly enough. The young husband was able 
to do some fishing from the beach, and the pro- 
visions held out well. Daily they looked for some 
passing fishing vessel, but autumn came and no 
rescuers had appeared. The provisions were al- 
most exhausted. 

Late in the autumn. Marguerite's little daugh- 
ter was born, the first white girl born in what is 
now British America. The baby did not linger 
long, but died a few weeks later, since the starv- 
ing mother could not nourish the child. 

An Arctic winter piled up the beach with ice. 
No fish were to be caught. There was no hope 
of rescue, for all the fishers had gone home for 
the season. The little hut, built for the summer, 
afforded scant protection against the icy blasts. 
The old nurse succumbed to the rigors of the cli- 
mate before Christmas. 

The young husband starved himself in order 
that his bride might have what small store of pro- 
visions remained. While in this emaciated state, 
he shot at, but only wounded, a Polar bear. The 
infuriated animal turned on him, and, in the man's 
weak state, he was unable to defend himself. He 



THE GALLANTRY OF FRANCE 137 

was killed and partly eaten, the bloody remains 
remaining on the beach for the wife to see. 

Marguerite was left alone on the Isle of Fiends. 

Though harassed by superstitious fears and 
menaced by wild beasts, the desolate woman strug- 
gled on alone. She killed a few Arctic foxes, who 
had come over the ice, some seals and three polar 
bears and lived on their meat. For two long years 
she dragged out a precarious existence. 

Then, as it chanced, the crew of a French fish- 
ing smack, driven out of its course by a gale, saw 
a woman on the dreaded island. Even so, her res- 
cue was uncertain. The sailors mutinied at the 
captain ^s orders to land, declaring that a woman 
who was Uving on the Isle of Fiends could not 
have escaped being the wife of a demon, and must 
be a sorceress herself. 

The captain of the fishing vessel was less su- 
perstitious. He forced his men to go, yielding 
to their fears only in promising that the woman 
would have to give a proper account of herself 
before he would take her on the vessel. Only by 
showing the bones of her dead husband and her 
baby was Marguerite able to free herself of the 
suspicion of witchcraft. The remains of the ani- 
mals that she had killed proved that she had not 
subsisted on * ^ demon food. ' ' The captain believed 
her story, and she reached France in safety at the 
last. 

Meantime, the Sieur de Roberval, confident in 
the justice of his cruel sentence, sailed on to the 



138 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

St. Lawrence. He dropped anchor at Cap Rouge 
and there made his first settlement. A huge build- 
ing was erected, half barracks and half castle. All 
the settlers lived in it together. 

The elaborate character of Cap Rouge Castle 
betrayed how little Roberval had foreseen the 
needs of pioneer life. There were store-chambers, 
without stores in them; millstones for grinding, 
but no grist ; enormous ovens, and but small loaves 
of bread to bake. Wild roots boiled in whale-oil 
formed the principal food. Scurvy slew one-third 
of the settlers, and, lacking Cartier 's aid, they did 
not know how to cure the dread disease. 

The Lord of Norumbega was too seK-impor- 
tant to make concessions to the hardships of pio- 
neer life. The most prominent thing in the set- 
tlement was the whipping post, **by means of 
which,'' the historian of the expedition naively 
writes, ^*we lived in peace.'' The settlers were 
kept at hard labor on scanty food. The military 
rule was harsh, six soldiers being hanged in one 
day. **So many men and women were whipped 
or shot," writes the historian, **that the Indians, 
pagans though they be, wept at their woes." 

The following spring, with half his men dead, 
Roberval went on to Quebec. He strengthened the 
fort and made some extensive explorations in- 
land. The Indians were unfriendly, as Cartier 
had warned. Fearing that a second winter might 
annihilate the colony, Roberval abandoned all his 
projects and sailed for home. 



THE GALLANTRY OF FRANCE 139 

So ended the first effort to found New France. 

Further attempts at French colonization during 
the sixteenth century were prevented by the out- 
break of civil war in France between the Catho- 
lics and the Huguenots (Protestants), also by 
the wars with Spain and Austria. 

Admiral Coligny, indeed, made two ill-starred 
attempts to found Huguenot colonies on the River 
of May, but disaster and Spanish massacre ended 
both these. His assassination in 1572, on bloody 
St. Bartholomew's Eve, put a close to Huguenot 
colonization. 

In 1589, Henry III of France died, and Henry 
of Navarre, the leader of the Protestants, claimed 
the throne. More than half of France refused to 
recognize him and the civil war continued. Henry 
of Navarre, or Henry IV, saw that it was hopeless 
for him to be accepted as king by the whole na- 
tion so long as he remained a Protestant. In 
1593, he formally became a Roman Catholic, while 
remaining strongly Protestant in his sympathies. 

Five years of fighting with enemies abroad and 
foes at home resulted in triumph. The Peace of 
Vervius was signed, ending the Spanish War, and 
on May 2, 1598, 'the famous Edict of Nantes was is- 
sued. This edict gave to the Protestants all the 
rights and liberties of which they had been de- 
prived during the preceding reigns. 

Peace promotes colonization. It releases capi- 
tal, and throws into idleness numbers of adven- 
turous men who need a new outlet for their vigor. 



140 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Just as the ending of the English war with Spain 
brought about the colonization of Virginia, so 
the ending of the French war with Spain sent colo- 
nists to New France. 

Cartier's nephews, Jacques Noel and Etienne 
de la Jannaye, had succeeded to his rights on their 
uncle ^s death. But the religious wars had added 
rancor to the trade rivalry between competing 
ports. The ships of Cartier's nephews were at- 
tacked at sea and burned in port, by their trade 
rivals. Piracy was heightened by religious hate. 

Noel and de 'la Jannaye had secured a renewal 
of their grant. But the merchants of St. Malo 
made so vigorous a protest at this fur and fish- 
ing monopoly and the times were so critical, that, 
in order to maintain peace, the King revoked the 
grant. Trading on the shores of Newfoundland 
and along the St. Lawrence continued on the basis 
of competitive piracy. 

Between 1593, when Henry of Navarre became 
a Roman Catholic, and 1598 when the Edict of 
Nantes was signed, French colonization in Amer- 
ica took on a new phase. The Marquis De la 
Roche, formerly page to Queen Catherine of 
Medici — an uncompromising Catholic — was ap- 
pointed ^^Lieutenant-General of Acadia, Canada 
and the surrounding countries.'* The conditions 
of the grant made De la Roche a despot. 

The territorial limits were vague. Canada — a 
Mohawk Indian word for *' village'' — meant the 
St. Lawrence Gulf and River as far inland as had 



THE GALLANTRY OF FRANCE 141 

been explored. Acadia meant the coast as far 
south as **the northernmost limit of Florida/' 
wherever that might be. The English settlement 
at Roanoke was entirely ignored. The ' * surround- 
ing countries'' was a phrase which left the whole 
question of territory wide open. Apparently De 
la Roche regarded Cape Cod as the southern limit 
of his grant. 

Some time after receiving this commission 
(probably in 1598) De la Roche and his 60 colo- 
nists set out for Acadia in the Catherine and the 
Frangoise. Many of his men were jail-birds. 
Mutiny soon showed its ugly head. A desperate 
effort was made to seize th'e ships and convert 
them into pirate craft. The mutiny was sup- 
pressed and the ringleaders put in irons, but De 
la Roche did not dare to carry these piratic ex- 
convicts with him any further. 

Reaching Sable Island, a small and nearly bar- 
ren sand-bank off Nova Scotia, he set the 40 muti- 
neers ashore. The island was without vegetation 
save for a little sparse grass and moss around 
a small brackish lake, and a few whortleberry and 
cranberry bushes in the swampy places. 

With but 16 loyal colonists remaining (four 
had died on the voyage) De la Roche sailed on to 
Acadia, seeking a good site for a settlement. He 
found none that pleased him but at last decided 
to build a fort on the coast of Maine. Attempt- 
ing to return to Sable Island to pick up the would- 



142 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

be pirates, his ship was caught in a western gale 
and driven halfway across the ocean. 

Being near home and the wind still favoring, De 
la Eoche decided to return for more men and sup- 
plies. Immediately upon his landing, however, he 
was arrested and thrown into prison by the Duke 
de Mercoeur, who claimed sovereign power in 
Brittany, and who held that Breton rights had 
been ignored in De la Roche's grant. 

De la Roche appealed to the Rouen parliament, 
asking to be freed and to be allowed to take more 
men to Acadia. He was released on the condition 
that he make no further efforts at colonization. 
De la Roche submitted, only urging that a rescue 
expedition be sent to Sable Island. He had but lit- 
tle success, for the men of Rouen thought that 
death on a desert island was a sufficiently good 
ending for a pack of mutinous jail-birds. It was 
not until five years had passed that a rescue expe- 
dition was sent. 

Of the forty mutineers who had been left on 
Sable Island, only seven remained alive. At first 
they had lived on a few scrawny cattle, the de- 
scendants of those left on the island by an expe- 
dition led by the Baron de Lery in 1518, of which 
expedition little definite information is known. 

As their food diminished, the ex-convicts fought 
and killed each other, until, by the spring follow- 
ing, there remained but twenty of them. Reahz- 
ing that their disunion only brought them greater 
suffering, they adopted communism — that last 




\Jt 



I r V , / 






^%^^ " 



^^ 






Map showing the luiyli^h iind French settlements, the results of their warfare in Arcadia, 
the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Maine. "" 



f^^Z^S'^^j 




xX\\^i 



Map made by Champlain in 1632. 



THE FRENCH SETTLEMENTS IN THE GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE 




THE SURRENDER OF THE SETTLEMENT OF QUEBEC IN 1629 

The defeat of Admiral Roquemont by the English fleet under Admiral Kirke opened 
the way for an attack upon Quebec which resulted in the surrender of that post to 
the Ens;lish. 



THE GALLANTRY OF FRANCE 143 

refuge of tlie desperate. They kept themselves 
alive on dead fish throwTi up on the beach and 
on seals which they were able to club. A sick 
whale, which stranded on the shore, gave them 
food for many months. 

When, at last, they were rescued, they were in 
a pitiable state, having reached the condition of 
wild men. Henry IV ordered them brought before 
him, in the same state as they were found, and 
gave to each a sum of money and his freedom. 

With De la Roche pledged to take no further 
action, the field was open. On November 22, 1599, 
Francois Grave, Sieur du Pont (known to history 
as Pontgrave) took up the work, having associ- 
ated with him Captain Pierre de Chauvin, for- 
merly Governor of Honfleur. De Chauvin was a 
prominent ship-builder of St. Malo and had the 
confidence of the Guild of Merchants. 

In the spring of 1600, de Chauvin, with four 
vessels, the Don de Dieu, the Bon Espoir, the St. 
Jehan and the Esperance sailed for Tadoussac, a 
famous Indian trading post at the mouth of the 
Saguenay River, thirty miles below Quebec. Af- 
ter a season's trading he left 16 men as the nucleus 
of a settlement. The provisions were insufficient 
and the men would have died of famine if the 
Montaignais (Adirondack) Indians had not helped 
them. De Chauvin made two more trading voy- 
ages, in 1601 and in 1602, but left no settlers. He 
fell ill on his third voyage and retired from the 
partnership, dying a year later. 



144 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Upon Pontgrave's urging the Sieur de Chastes, 
vice-admiral of Normandy and Governor of 
Dieppe took on de Chauvin's privileges. Dieppe 
was the map-making and nautical center of 
France. De Chastes was able to interest many 
wealthy ship-owners. 

In the early part of the winter of 1602, the Com- 
pany of New France was formed. This was a 
powerful body of lords and merchants from the 
three ports of St. Malo, Dieppe and Rouen. The 
piratic rivalry which ever smouldered between 
captains of these ports was quelled by the policy 
of making them partners in the scheme. 

Shrewd as was this alliance and important as it 
was to America, still more decisive was the ap- 
pointment of Captain Samuel de Champlain, a na- 
val officer who had distinguished himself in the 
West Indies. De Chastes assigned him to the ex- 
pedition, which was put under the command of 
Pontgrave. He was to prove the builder of New 
France. 

They sailed from Honfleur on March 15, 1603, 
and reached Tadoussac two months' later. Thence 
Pontgrave and Champlain sailed up the St. Law- 
rence, past the tenantless fortifications of Quebec 
— where France would have been solidly estab- 
lished seventy years before if Roberval had kept 
his word to Cartier — and reached the site of Mont 
Royal (Montreal). No vestige remained of the 
great Indian town, Hochelaga, where Cartier had 
been so lavishly entertained. 



THE GALLANTRY OF FRANCE 145 

Contiiming on their journey, they came to the 
Falls of St. Louis, a part of which Cartier had 
called the La Chine Rapids, in gloomy jest at 
finding the expected route to China barred by 
them. In spite of every effort, Champlain failed 
to pass these rapids. Winter was drawing near, 
and as this expedition had been sent to explore 
rather than to settle, the two pioneers returned 
to France to make their report. 

When they reached Honfleur, it was to learn that 
de Chastes was dead. Pontgrave and Champlain 
sought a new backer and found him in the Sieur 
de Monts, Governor of Pons, who applied for a 
new grant for La Cadie or Acadia. 

Recent exploration had more clearly defined the 
territory to be known as New France. De Monts ^ 
grant included the region between 40° and 46° 
(approximately the latitudes of Philadelphia and 
Montreal). This grant was attacked in the courts 
by the merchants of St. Malo, Rouen and Dieppe, 
but de Monts was skillful enough to satisfy every 
one by rebuilding de Chastes' old company. A 
complication arose in the fact that, though De 
Monts was a Protestant, as were several others 
in the venture, priests must accompany the ex- 
pedition and the Indians must be baptized and 
brought up in the Roman Catholic faith. 

De Monts and Champlain, with several promi- 
nent men and a small body of colonists, sailed 
from France on April 7, 1604. Meeting some in- 
dependent fur traders from St. Malo in St. Mary 's 



146 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Bay, de Monts confiscated both craft and cargoes, 
as interfering with his monopoly. For this piece 
of autocratic meddling, he was to pay dearly later. 

The Bay of Fundy was thoroughly explored and 
finally the ships entered a peaceful stretch of wa- 
ter, with hills on every side, now known as An- 
napolis Harbor, in Nova Scotia. The site was well 
adapted for a small settlement, and the Baron of 
Poutrincourt, who was on board, asked De Monts 
for a patent to this land, offering a good sum. 
De Monts agreed, and the site was named Port 
Eoyal. The River St. John was explored for some 
little distance, and at last the ships cast anchor 
in Passamaquoddy Bay. 

Since the expedition was in an unexplored 
country, with no knowledge whether or not the In- 
dians would prove friendly, de Monts gave all 
his attention to finding a site which could be de- 
fended against any odds. A small islet, fenced 
round with rocks was selected for the winter set- 
tlement, and named St. Croix. 

Poutrincourt sailed for France, to get men and 
supplies for his new colony of Port Royal. De 
Monts remained as the feudal lord of half a con- 
tinent, with only 79 men at his back, Champlain 
among them. 

No gallantry, however great, could conquer 
cold. Over bleak and desolate St. Croix the wind 
howled continually. The cider and the wine froze 
in the casks, and the daily rations were chopped 
off and thawed for drinking. Scurvy ravaged the 



THE GALLANTRY OF FRANCE 147 

settlers. Of the 79 men, only 34 were alive in 
the spring. 

On June 16, 1605, Pontgrave came with more 
supplies and 40 men. De Monts sailed southward, 
at once, to seek a less dreary site for the colony, 
leaving 12 men to guard St. Croix. He touched at 
Mt. Desert, Penobscot, Kennebec, Saco, Ports- 
mouth Harbor, the Isle of Shoals, Cape Ann, Cape 
Cod and finally reached Nausett Harbor, which 
appealed to him most of all. There a sTiore party 
was attacked by Indians and one man killed. 
Deeming it unwise to found a colony in the teeth 
of Indian hostility, de Monts returned to St. 
Croix. 

Silence awaited them. Of the 12 men who had 
been left to guard the Habitations of St. Croix, 
there was not a sign, nor were they ever seen 
again. Even the islet, evidently, was not safe 
from attack. Not a single place on the Maine or 
Massachusetts coast had pleased de Monts and 
he determined to go to Port Royal, although that 
site had been granted to Poutrincourt. The houses 
were pulled down, their timbers and material 
shipped across the Bay of Fundy, and eager hands 
set to work to build the first town of New France. 

Scarcely two weeks had passed, however, when 
a small ship arrived, sent by Poutrincourt, warn- 
ing de Monts that his enemies in France were 
working actively against him, and there was dan- 
ger that his charter might be revoked. De Monts 



148 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

sailed at once for France, leaving Pontgrave and 
Champlain in command. 

This winter was as cold as the preceding one, 
but the site of Port Eoyal was sheltered. Cham- 
plain formed an alliance with the Indians, and 
through them learned of the properties of white 
pine bark as a cure for scurvy. As a result, 
deaths that winter were comparatively few. 

De Monts arrived in France in time to save the 
charter, but his enemies were so numerous that he 
dared not leave the country. He persuaded Marc 
Lescarbot, law^^er and poet, to join the colonists, 
and Lescarbot proved a true leader. 

For this next supply, the Jonas was equipped 
in Rochelle. Trouble resulted. That town was 
not only jealous of St. Malo, Dieppe and Rouen, 
but it was a strong Protestant center and ob- 
jected strongly to the conversion of the Indians 
to the Roman Catholic faith. Two days before 
the date set for sailing, the Jonas was scuttled and 
sunk in Rochelle Harbor. With a great deal of 
trouble and expense the vessel was raised again, 
but the accident had caused delay. It was not 
until July 27, 1606, that the Jonas entered Port 
Royal basin. 

One man, carrying a gun ran down to the beach 
and fired off his piece in greeting. A moment la- 
ter one of the cannons of the fort boomed out a 
salute. Poutrincourt and Lescarbot landed, to 
find that their welcomers were the only two men 
at Port Royal. 



THE GALLANTRY OF FRANCE 149 

Twelve days earlier, Pontgrave and Champlain 
had set out along the coast in two small boats that 
they had built, hoping to secure supplies from 
some fishing or trading schooner. Poutrincourt 
immediately sent a swift sailing shallop after 
them. Pontgrave and Champlain were found a 
few days later and returned joyously to Port 
Royal. 

Pontgrave returned to France in the Jonas, 
leaving Lescarbot in charge of Port Royal, and 
advising Poutrincourt and Champlain to find a 
more southern site for a colony. Hyannis, on the 
southeastern shore of Massachusetts was care- 
fully surveyed but not deemed entirely suitable. 

At last they found what seemed a perfect site 
in Chatham Harbor. But a party of six men, who 
had been sent ashore for fresh water and who were 
camping for the night on the beach, was attacked 
by Indians. At the sound of the first shot, Pou- 
trincourt and Champlain leaped from their bunks 
and, ''in their night attire,'' says the historian, 
''pulled most valiantly to the beach in rescue of 
their comrades, firing their pieces as they went.'' 
It was a gallant deed, for rarely did the white 
men face the Indians, except in armor. Two men 
of the shore party were wounded by arrows, but 
not fatally. Chatham Harbor was abandoned. 

On their return, the two leaders found Port 
Royal flourishing. Lescarbot was a wonderful 
leader. Agriculture was his hobby and he was 
himself an extraordinarily hard worker, in the 



150 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

fields before dawn and after dark. He had burned 
the grass off the flats and had sown wheat, rye 
and barley, of which a good crop was harvested. 

More important still, he had developed into a 
warm friendship the alliance with the Indians 
that had been begun by Champlain the preceding 
winter. Some of the natives, including Member- 
ton, their chief, had been partly prepared for 
Catholic baptism, according to the requirements 
of the charter. The rite had not been solemnized, 
however, as the two priests had died. 

It was here that arose one of the strangest and 
most picturesque developments of all the early 
colonizations of America — **The Order of Good 
Fare.'^ It formed an extraordinary contrast to 
such a state of affairs as had developed among the 
English in '^The Starving Time.'' 

The plan had been devised by Lescarbot. In 
brief, it was a banqueting club, in which every 
member of the expedition was required to provide 
the food for one day. On that day, he was the 
Master of the Feast. There was a constant 
friendly rivalry as to which man would be the best 
host. 

One of the Indian chiefs was generally present 
as an honored guest of the Frenchmen, and Les- 
carbot made it a rule that there should always 
be food for the lesser warriors, the squaws and 
the children. The grateful Indians repaid this 
hospitality by bringing in game and fish freely, 



THE GALLANTRY OF FRANCE 151 

since they were always welcome to partake of the 
meal. 

Lescarbot, rightly thinking that pomp and dis- 
play would have a good effect upon the savages, 
conducted these dinners in that lonely frontier 
post with as much ceremony as though they were 
being given in a French chateau. The Master of 
the Feast for the day, though perhaps only a 
common sailor, wore a rich robe of velvet with a 
hesivj gold chain around the neck. 

Champlain organized festivities, with a good 
deal of music. The Indians, though generally so 
reticent with the white men, contributed songs and 
dances. There were friendl}^ contests of skill. 
Owing to a mild winter, to good food, and to the 
happy spirit of the colony, only four men died in 
six months, the smallest death-rate recorded in 
the early settlements of America. 

The spring of 1607 found the settlers of Port 
Royal in high spirits. A cargo of tar was nearly 
ready, which would fetch a high price in France. 
The fields were planted. Carpenters were build- 
ing new houses. The settlement rang with the 
sounds of contented labor. 

Suddenly there appeared a vessel from S-t. 
Malo, bringing disastrous news. The De Monts 
charter had been rescinded owing to the Roman 
Catholic influence of Queen Mary de Medici, the 
second wife of Henry IV of France. War had 
broken out between France and Holland, and 
Dutch vessels were raiding the post on the St. 



152 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Lawrence. Port Eoyal must be abandoned, at 
least until the Dutch war was over. 

Lescarbot refused to go until he had harvested 
his crops. On August 27, 1607, the last of the 
white men sailed for France, to the dismay and 
grief of the friendly Indians. The most success- 
ful colony in America was abandoned in the full 
flush of its pride by reason of religious strife in 
the mother country. 

De Monts was too powerful a man to be thrust 
aside so rudely. He secured a grant to trade in 
the St. Lawrence Valley. In April, 1608, he sent 
out an expedition of two ships under Pontgrave 
and Champlain. After a sharp battle with rival 
fur-traders at Tadoussac the two explorers came 
to the Narrows of Quebec and rebuilt the aban- 
doned settlement. Soon after landing a serious 
mutiny was discovered. The ringleader was 
hanged and three other mutineers sent back to 
France, but the conspiracy had an ugly look, for 
there was evidence that it had been planned by 
De Monts' enemies. 

In September, Pontgrave sailed for France with 
a rich cargo of furs, leaving Champlain at Quebec 
with 28 men. The winter, unlike that of the pre- 
ceding year, was terribly severe, and Quebec is 
one of the coldest spots in eastern Canada. The 
food supply of the Indians failed and they bor- 
rowed from the white men until there was little 
left. The spring was late. When Pontgrave ar- 



THE GALLANTRY OF FRANCE 153 

rived at the end of May, 1609, the snow was still 
on the ground and only nine men were left alive. 

At this time was formed the alliance with the 
Indians which played so vital a part in the wars 
between the English and the French in America, 
and which determined the future history of the 
continent. 

When Cartier first visited the St. Lawrence, he 
had been hospitably received by the Indians, along 
the valley, and at their great town of Hochelaga. 
All these tribes were of the Iroquois Family (or 
Race), and most of them belonged to the Huron 
group. Later, the Hurons formed one of the Great 
Confederacy of Six Nations — Mohawks, Hurons, 
Oneidas, Onondagas, Senecas and Tuscaroras — 
the most powerful confederacy in North Aanerica, 
but, at this time, they were outside of and antago- 
nistic to the original Four-Nation Confederacy, 
Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas and Senecas. 

When Champlain came, three-quarters of a cen- 
tury later, the Hurons were gone. A wave of In- 
dian war had swept over the valley. The more 
numerous and more barbaric tribes of the Algon- 
quians had taken their place. The Hurons were 
driven west, to the region south of the Great 
Lakes. This conquest had only been possible be- 
cause the Iroquois of the Four Nations, the most 
civilized and the most warlike of the North Amer- 
ican Indians did not feel called upon to help the 
Hurons. 

In order to maintain his position at Quebec, 



154 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Champlain made an alliance with the Algonquians 
and the Hurons, who had made terms with their 
hereditary enemies. By the other Iroquois Na- 
tions, the Hurons were regarded as double-dyed 
traitors. 

When Pontgrave next spring arrived with more 
men, the Indians demanded that Champlain re- 
deem his promise to aid them against their ene- 
mies, and proposed a raid into Iroquois country, 
promising Champlain that they would show him 
a route whereby that territory could be reached 
by boats. 

Two reasons caused . Champlain to agree to 
this unwise meddling in tribal warfare. The first 
was the absolute necessity that the Indians should 
trust the white men — otherwise they might all be 
massacred in a night. The second was his desire 
for exploration and for the extension of the fur 
trade routes. As yet, nothing was known of the 
region away from the St. Lawrence Valley. 

In June 1609, Algonquian and Huron braves 
to the number of 400 gathered for the war-path 
and summoned Champlain to join them. The ex- 
plorer, with 11 Frenchmen in full plate armor, re- 
sponded to the call. 

The Indians, in their canoes, led the party 
across the Lake of St. Peter to the Richelieu River. 
At a camping site, two days' journey upstream, 
quarrels broke out between the Hurons and the 
Algonquians and three-quarters of the braves 
abandoned the projected raid. 



THE GALLANTRY OF FRANCE 155 

Some distance further up the river, rapids were 
encountered beyond which the French boat could 
not go. Even so, Champlain would not desert his 
allies, but continued on with two of his men and 
60 Indians to invade the country of the warlike 
Iroquois. 

The advance was made slowly and only by night. 
Beyond Crown Point, the progress became even 
more stealthy. Late in the evening of July 29, 
moving forward before the moon rose, the attack- 
ing party came near to that narrow strip of land 
between Lake Champlain and Lake George which 
is famous in American History under its Iroquois 
name of Ticonderoga. 

On the water were a number of heavy elm bark 
canoes, easily to be recognized as those of the 
Iroquois. The defenders landed hastily and began 
throwing up a barricade. The invaders waited in 
their canoes until the first streaks of dawn ap- 
peared, and landed also. 

It was a daring raid, and when the Iroquois 
saw the small numbers of the Algonquians, they 
were amazed. The invaders were only 60 in 
number and were facing more than 200 braves, 
warriors of the finest fighting tribe in the whole 
Iroquois League, for these were Mohawks. 

The shrill war-yell rose, and, scorning the bar- 
ricade they had been at such pains to build, the 
Iroquois rushed forward. 

The Algonquians answered with their even 



166 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

higher-pitched war-cry, and called upon Cham- 
plain and his men. 

The loose ranks of the invaders opened. At 
three different points, the three Frenchmen 
stepped forward. 

At these apparitions of pale-faced men in shin- 
ing flame — for their polished armor glinted 
brightly under the first rays of the rising sun — 
the Mohawks stopped. Only for a moment, how- 
ever, and then the gallant redskins raised their 
bows to shoot. 

It was too late I 

Before arrow could leave bow, Champlain had 
leveled his arquebuss and fired. He had loaded it 
with four balls, and one chief and one warrior fell. 
The sound had not died away before the other two 
pale-faces fired. At different points of the Hne, 
two other Indians fell. 

What sorcery of slaughter was this f 

What terrible wizards were these who could 
hurl from sticks a fiery death which flew faster 
and further than any arrow? 

The Mohawks, despite their valor, dared not 
advance, dared not await another volley. They 
fled in panic, fled so fast, indeed, that the Algon- 
quians, pursuing with whoops of triumph, were 
able to make but few prisoners. 

It was a great victory for the invaders and it 
increased the prestige of Champlain among the 
Indians a thousandfold. Yet this victorious skir- 
mish was to prove costly to France. 



THE GALLANTRY OF FRANCE 157 

That same day, July 30, 1609, a little Dutch 
ship named the Half-Moon was riding in Penob- 
scot Bay. Had the vision of Henry Hudson, her 
captain, been able to pierce the forests that lay 
between his vessel and Ticonderoga, he would 
have had the clew to that confused and savage 
warfare which for years to come was to make a 
bloody battlefield of those forests. 

Because of those few shots from an arquebuss, 
fired by a Frenchman against a party of Mohawks, 
on behalf of his Algonquian allies, the Dutch and 
the English gained the support of the most pow- 
erful and warlike ally that the whole North Ameri- 
can continent could afford. Later history was to 
reveal the Iroquois and the Algonquians as double- 
edged weapons ruthlessly wielded by the French 
and English in their great contest for the mastery 
of America. Champlain^s courage was to lose 
France the fairest of her possessions. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE COMING OF THE JESUITS 

Religious strife was a main cause in the peo- 
pling of America. Colonized when Europe was 
aflame with bigotry, when one side burned ** her- 
etics^* and the other butchered ** papists/* it was 
inevitable that Americans early history should be 
singed with that flame. 

The Spaniards came as Catholic crusaders, the 
Coligny colonies were refuges for hunted Hugue- 
nots, Virginia would accept none who were not of 
the English Church, Maryland was a home for 
disfranchised Catholics, and the French colonists 
in Acadia were compelled to see that the Indians 
were Catholicized, even though they were Protes- 
tants themselves. 

Soon the Mayflower would come, bringing the 
Pilgrim Fathers, content with no worship but 
their own. The Puritans would follow, to estab- 
lish the most intolerant church that ever existed on 
American soil. Moravians, Lutherans, Quakers 
and other bodies were to plant colonies of their 
own persuasion, until every mile of the American 
coast-line was tagged with a theological name. 

American history differs from that of every 
other country in the world. It is not the history 

158 



THE COMING OF THE JESUITS 159 

of the growth of a single people, nor yet is it a 
tale of conquest. It is the history of a virgin 
land, peopled by successive communities of a dif- 
fering religious character. Each gave some of 
its good to the whole. Each was in earnest, each 
had faith. Men do not fight for what they do not 
prize. 

Enthusiasts are always filled with the mission- 
ary spirit. The story of America is full of the most 
splendid stories of heroism and martyrdom; 
scores of unmarked graves in the primeval for- 
ests bear silent witness to the courage of Chris- 
tian teachers, Catholics and Protestants alike. 

With the revocation of de Monts' charter be- 
cause he was a Protestant, one of the most aggres- 
sive of these missionary orders — that of the Jes- 
uits — found its opportunity in America. Queen 
Mary de Medici, of France, was a devotee and a 
strong supporter of the Jesuits, whose missionary 
efforts covered the then known world. Their in- 
fluence had been potent in the attack upon De 
Monts. 

Henry IV had allowed a trading privilege on 
the St. Lawrence to de Monts, despite his Protes- 
tantism, because he was associated with Cham- 
plain, a Roman Catholic. This was a fair type 
of the King 's policy of keeping a balance between 
the two parties. Quebec, for the time being, was 
let alone. 

The settlement of Acadia was another matter. 
Poutrincourt held to his grant of Port Royal, but. 



160 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

as the revoking of de Monts' charter made this 
grant invalid, it was necessary to secure a royal 
consent to the holding of his grant. Thus Pou- 
trincourt came to hold Port Royal directly under 
the Crown, though, as he learned later, he owed 
this favor to three noblewomen who were cham- 
pioning the Jesuit cause. 

The abandonment of Port Royal and the law- 
suits in connection with his grant brought Pou- 
trincourt to poverty. He secured as partner a 
man of great wealth, Thomas Robin, who, like 
Poutrincourt, was a moderate Catholic belonging 
to what was known as the National Party, pa- 
triotic and tolerant, but suspicious of Spain and 
the Jesuits. 

When Father Cotton, the Jesuit confessor of 
Henry IV, persuaded the King to order that Jes- 
uit missionaries should be sent to Acadia, the news 
was most unwelcome to Poutrincourt and Robin. 
When they learned that Father Biard had been 
named as the first of these, they were even more 
distressed. 

Indeed, so resentful were they, that, defying all 
prudence, Poutrincourt sailed in March, 1610, for 
Dieppe instead of from Bordeaux as arranged, 
and left the Jesuit Father waiting on the shore. 
He took with him a secular priest. Father La 
Fleche. 

Immediately upon his arrival at Port Royal, the 
priest undertook baptisms at a great rate, since 
Poutrincourt wished to prove to the King that 



THE COMING OF THE JESUITS 161 

the Chris tianization of the Indians could be done 
without the help of the Jesuits. 

Father La Fleche did not arrive in Acadia until 
May, but within a month, Chief Memberton — said 
to be one hundred and ten years old — and all his 
family, together with twenty of the leading war- 
riors, were baptized. Baptisms became popular. 
Poutrincourt was shrewd enough to give a free 
feast on every christening day. The Micmacs 
flocked in. Their admiration and aifection for 
the French were so great that they became ready 
converts. Indeed, it was with difficulty that the 
white men held back the new-made Christians 
from going on the war-path against the neighbor- 
ing tribes and tomahawking all those who did not 
come to be baptized forthwith. 

In the middle of July, Poutrincourt sent his son 
— ^known to history by the family name of Bien- 
court, to France with the precious book wherein 
were recorded the baptisms of several hundred 
Indians. But, on his way across, Biencourt heard 
grievous news from a Breton fisherman. Henry 
IV had been assassinated by Ravillac while driv- 
ing along the streets of Paris. 

This death, which left Louis XIII a boy-king 
and placed France under the regency of Queen 
Marie de Medici, boded evil for the Protestants. 
De Monts* trading privilege was not renewed. 
Poutrincourt had put himself in a difficult position 
by his contemptuous rejection of a Jesuit Father. 
Such was an awkward situation for young Bien- 



162 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

court to face, when he appeared at court. His 
case was far too weak for him to dare to oppose 
the potent Religious Order that his father had 
offended. 

At this time, three women were all-powerful at 
court. These were Marie de Medici, Regent and 
Queen-Mother; Henriette d'Entraigues, Marquise 
de Verneuil, whose ugly story needs not to be told ; 
and the stainless and virtuous Antoinette de la 
Pons, Marquise de Guercheville, whom Henry IV 
had vainly wooed. All three were devoted to the 
Jesuits. 

Biencourt, as resolutely as he dared, urged his 
father's faithfulness to the Church and yet his 
dislike of the Jesuit Fathers. A strong hint was 
given to the young man that any more such talk 
might mean a cancellation of his father's grant, 
and, since he had found out that these three women 
had been the cause of De Monts' downfall, Bien- 
court kept quiet. Father Biard was instructed to 
proceed to Dieppe with an associate, Father 
Masse, and Biencourt was curtly ordered to see 
that they were duly taken on board. 

There was more trouble ahead. Poutrincourt 
and Robin, learning how heavy were the costs of 
founding a new state, had arranged with two 
Protestant merchants in Dieppe to take a share 
in the venture, in return for a ship-load of sup- 
plies. These were to be placed on Biencourt 's 
vessel. 

"When Fathers Biard and Masse arrived in 



THE COMING OF THE JESUITS 163 

Dieppe, however, the Protestant merchants defied 
the Queen-Mother and flatly refused to allow the 
Jesuits to board. 

The Marquise de Guercheville threw herself 
into the breach with zeal and devotion. A sub- 
scription was begun, and, in a few hours, a large 
sum was raised among the courtiers, not one of 
whom dared to refuse to sign. Within a week, 
the amount received exceeded all expectations. 

The money was given to the Provincial of the 
Jesuits, who directed Father Biard to buy out the 
entire interest of the two Protestant merchants of 
Dieppe, and to lend some money to Poutrincourt. 
Thus the Jesuits not only became commercial part- 
ners in the enterprise, but also creditors of the 
owner of the grant. This transaction was to have 
startling results. 

The expedition, richly laden with the seeds of 
distrust, sailed from Dieppe on January 26, 1611. 
The voyage was long and it was not until May 22 
that a landing at Port Royal was made. 

The winter had been hard and the ship had 
been expected two months earlier. Famine had 
taken more than half of the men. The remaining 
colonists eagerly fell upon the supplies brought 
by Biencourt, but a large share of the provisions 
had been consumed during the long sea-voyage. 

Gloomy enough was the landing, but it was ren- 
dered worse by Poutrincourt 's open hostility to 
Fathers Biard and Masse. A case of interference 
with justice brought this enmity to a crisis. Pont- 



164 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

grave's son had excited the animosity of the In- 
dians by a piece of personal misconduct, and was 
hiding in the woods from Poutrincourt's anger. 
Father Biard went to seek him, pardoned him, and 
brought him back to the fort. 

The governor stormed at this invasion of his 
authority. Father Biard suavely pointed out that 
the Jesuits were now his partners and that, if it 
had not been for the intervention of the Marquise 
de Guercheville, Port Royal would not have re- 
ceived any supplies at all. Moreover, he pointed 
out that the pardon of an erring son was a spirit- 
ual affair. 

Poutrincourt retorted that the Protestant mer- 
chants were sending the supplies, and that they 
would have come sooner if the Jesuits had not 
interfered. He added that he preferred Protes- 
tant aid to Jesuit aid. As the Catholics were in 
control at the court of France, this was an unwise 
remark and he was to pay dearly for it. 

Thoroughly enraged at the manner in which his 
grant was passing out of his hands, Poutrincourt 
sailed for France to fight his own cause. Bien- 
court was left in charge, though Father Biard was 
the real ruler. 

The young sailor was as eager to escape from 
the new conditions as his father had been. More- 
over, he had been appointed Vice-Admiral of New 
France as a means of strengthening his attach- 
ment to the Crown. He set out to harry the trad- 
ing vessels of independent St. Malo and Rochelle 



THE COMING OF THE JESUITS 165 

merchants, with the intention of seizing their sup- 
plies as penalty. 

Soon after sailing, he came into conflict with 
young Pontgrave, who had built a few huts on the 
shore and was establishing a trading post on his 
own account. Biencourt regarded this as a usur- 
pation of his father ^s privileges and made Pont- 
grave and his men prisoners, in spite of Father 
Biard's opposition. 

The summer and autumn was spent by Bien- 
court in the effort to make the fur-traders accept 
his authority — which most of them refused to do — 
and in the hunt for supplies. Yet, when the ship 
returned to Port Eoyal in the fall, there were few 
stores in her hold. The scant amount of food 
that had been collected had been consumed on the 
voyage. 

The garrison at Port Eoyal had not prospered. 
Father Masse had gone out to convert the Indians 
and was rescued, in a half-starved condition, after 
a summer in which he had tried to live in Indian 
fashion. Chief Memberton was dying of old age, 
and, with his death, a strong link of Indian friend- 
ship was lost. 

The winter proved wet and dreary. Biencourt 
and the Jesuit Fathers lived in a state of mutual 
distrust. Fortunately for the colony, Poutrin- 
court had ventured to send a supply ship across 
the Atlantic in the depth of winter. She arrived 
on January 23, 1612. 

The news that the vessel brought was less w^l- 



166 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

come to Biencourt than the food. The first person 
to step ashore from the boat was Gilbert du Thet, 
a Jesuit lay-brother. He informed the young 
sailor that Mme. de Guercheville had bought from 
de Monts all his claims to Acadia. De Monts had 
protested, but was silenced by the veiled threat 
that, if he proved stubborn, his Protestantism 
might come to be regarded as treason. 

Du Thet's position was a strong one. He 
showed Biencourt that the Jesuit colonization was 
on a loftier plane than any that had preceded it. 
All the French founders in Acadia — even Poutrin- 
court, at the last — ^had abandoned colonizing and 
had set themselves merely to establish fur-trading 
posts. The Jesuit Father proposed to use Port 
Royal as the base of a mission which should bring 
all the Indian tribes of America into the fold of 
the Catholic Church, and then civilize them grad- 
ually. The amazing success of the Jesuit mis- 
sions in Paraguay, wherein the warlike Guaranyis 
had become largely civilized in the course of thirty 
years, proved that such a plan was possible. 

But du Thet was not the only agent on this 
vessel, there was also an agent sent by Poutrin- 
court. Du Thet explained that the grant held by 
Poutrincourt restricted him to a small piece of ter- 
ritory contained in de Monts' grant; the baron's 
agent claimed a huge barony. 

Technically, Poutrincourt was in the wrong. 
He had bought a small site from de Monts for 
the purposes of colonization. The failure of this 



THE COMING OF THE JESUITS 167 

plan had turned him into a fur trader. A piece 
of land large enough for the building of a town 
was a very different matter from the enormous 
territory required for a fur-hunting domain. 

Biencourt sided with his father's agent. The 
quarreling grew sharp. The three Jesuits, secure 
in the royal support, withdrew to the vessel and 
prepared to sail for France. Poutrincourt 's grant 
would not have endured a half an hour after their 
arrival at court, and Biencourt knew it. He 
ordered their return to land and threatened to use 
force if they did not come. 

The Jesuits excommunicated him. For three 
months a reUgious interdict was placed on the 
settlement. Then either Biencourt or Father 
Biard yielded (the original documents of both 
sides are flatly contradictory on this point), 
friendly relations were resumed, and, in the sum- 
mer. Brother du Thet sailed for France. He 
carried letters from Father Biard praising Bien- 
court, but he also bore verbal messages of a very 
different character. 

As might be expected, Poutrincourt had only 
made his troubles worse. In order to send sup- 
plies, he borrowed money from the Jesuits and 
from the Marquise de Guercheville. The notes 
fell due and he had no money with which to pay 
them. He had few friends at court and he had 
made an enemy of the Jesuit Order. He was 
thrown into prison. There he fell ill, and though 



168 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

he was soon released, his opportunities to help the 
Acadian colonists were at an end. 

Poutrincourt needed not to disturb himself. 
Jesuit zeal was running high, and Jesuit money 
was embarked on the enterprise. Under the 
influence of the Queen-Mother, Louis XIII granted 
to the Marquise de Guercheville all the territory 
of North America, from Florida to the St. Law- 
rence Eiver, with the exception of a few square 
miles around Port Royal, which had been granted 
to Poutrincourt by Henry IV. 

The devotee marquise, therefore, was awarded 
by the Crown of France not only the unoccupied 
land in America, but also the land held by the 
English in Virginia as well as the trading posts of 
the Dutch on the Hudson River. This was a steal, 
pure and simple. 

Once more a subscription was set on foot, this 
time for the occupation of the whole North Amer- 
ican coast. As it was a holy cause and Mme. de 
Guercheville 's name was honored for rectitude 
and charity, the money came in readily. The 
Jonas was amply, even luxuriously equipped and 
sent to Acadia under command of Captain La 
Saussaye, who was to act as the lieutenant of the 
marquise. 

On May 16, 1613, La Saussaye touched at La 
Heve, where he displayed the banner of Mme. de 
Guercheville, and where Father La Quentin — the 
third Jesuit Father to come to the colony — said 
Mass. Brother du Thet duly recorded this official 



THE COMING OF THE JESUITS 169 

act of taking possession of all North America for 
France. Thence the Jonas passed onwards to 
Port Eoyal. 

As seemed to be the invariable outcome of a 
colonial winter, the colonists were in utter dis- 
tress. Biencouii; and the few settlers who sur- 
vived were scattered far and wide, gathering 
shell-fish, catching fish or digging ground-nuts. 
Fathers Biard and Masse, a boy acolyte and two 
men were ail who were found at the settlement. 

Taking the two Jesuits and the boy on board, 
La Saussaye promptly set sail, by no means dis- 
pleased at having escaped an awkward meeting 
with Biencourt. The Port Royal site was excluded 
from the grant given to the marquise and there 
was no reason for him to stay there. 

After a few hours' sailing he entered what is 
now known as Frenchman's Bay, on the coast of 
Maine. There, on Mt. Desert Island, near the 
present site of Bar Harbor, Maine, the first set- 
tlement was made under the banner of Mme. de 
Guercheville. Later, on the urging of Father 
Biard, this settlement was moved to Soames 
Sound, on the same island. Thus the French flag 
flew on what was afterwards to be the State of 
Maine. 

England was not likely to stay idle when so 
impudent a claim as this was made. Captain 
Argall, the young English sailor who had abducted 
Pocahontas and taken her to Jamestown, had been 
sent north to fish for cod off the coasts of Maine 



170 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

and to secure from the coast Indians any supplies 
he could, whether by fair means or foul. The 
vessel ran into a heavy fog, and, when the weather 
cleared, Argall found himself off the islands at 
the mouth of Penobscot Bay, fifty miles southwest 
off Mt. Desert Island. 

Some Indians came off, in canoes, to trade. *^By 
their bows and scrapes,'' Argall was convinced 
that these Indians must have been in contact with 
some French nearby. The English captain knew 
a little of the Indian tongue and managed to dis- 
cover the whereabouts of the new colony, which 
was clearly within the territory of ** North Vir- 
ginia. ' ' 

Counting largely on the element of surprise and 
confident in the fighting qualities of his crew, 
Argall sailed into Soames Sound. For a few min- 
utes, the French gazed at the incoming vessel with 
delight, believing her to be one of their own. Then 
Argall broke out the English flag and opened with 
a broadside. A round shot ploughed through the 
settlers gathered on the beach. 

In a second all was confusion. Part of the crew 
of the French ship was ashore, laying the first 
timbers for the fort. The French pilot and a boat- 
load of sailors started for their ship, but saw at 
once that there would be no time to run her out 
of the harbor without being sunk by the English 
guns. They fled for the narrow channels between 
the islands and the shore and so escaped. La 
Saussaye fled into the woods. 



THE COMING OF THE JESUITS 171 

La Motte, the lieutenant, with Brother du Thet 
and a handful of the boldest men, took a small 
boat and hurried on board the ship to fight or to 
escape. There was no time to cut the cables or 
hoist sail. Argall bore down on them swiftly. 
A second broadside roared out and smashed into 
the ship. 

Since the gunners had fled with the pilot, there 
was no one to man the French guns. Du Thet, 
however, determined that at least there should be 
some reply, set match to one of the cannons and 
fired, without even stopping to aim. 

The single report was answered from ArgalPs 
vessel with the rattle of a volley of musketry, and 
du Thet fell on the deck, mortally wounded. The 
English raked the French craft fore and aft, but 
never a second shot came in answer. 

Then ArgalPs men boarded. Few of the 
Frenchmen were left alive, but La Motte, sword 
in hand, fought gallantly to the last, and was 
granted an honorable surrender. 

The EngHsh commander landed without oppo- 
sition from the handful of men left on the shore. 
He raided the tents and the half-built huts. He 
seized La Saussaye's trunks, picked the locks, and, 
with inexcusable trickery, extracted from the chest 
the royal deeds and La Saussaye^s commission. 
These he stuffed in his pockets and then closed 
the trunks as though they had not been pilfered. 

The following morning, La Saussaye, seeing 
both his ship and his settlement in English hands, 



172 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

emerged from his hiding-place and surrendered. 
Argall received him courteously, only demanding 
to be shown the royal commission under which 
La Saussaye was operating. The French com- 
mander searched his trunks in vain. 

Thereupon Argall broke into a storm of rage, 
declared La Saussaye a liar and threatened to 
hang the French leader and all his men as pirates. 
He gave his own sailors the right to help them- 
selves to anything they wished. Even clothing 
was taken, leaving the colonists half naked. 

La Saussaye, Father Masse and thirteen men 
were put in an open boat, with scant provisions, 
and set adrift in the open sea. Later, after the 
English had gone, the pilot and the boat's crew 
crept out from among the islands and joined La 
Saussaye. On the verge of starvation, the two 
crews made their way north to Newfoundland 
where they met French trading vessels which took 
them home in safety. 

Father Biard, with thirteen men, accompanied 
Argall back to Jamestown. Dale, the stern High 
Marshal, was in command of Virginia at the time. 
The news of the French invasion stirred his mili- 
tary severity. He was about to give order that 
every one of the prisoners — including the eccle- 
siastics — should be hanged as pirates, when Ar- 
gall, realizing that he was arousing a storm that 
threatened to be greater than he could weather, 
showed Dale the stolen papers. 

The High Marshal was too good a soldier not 



THE COMING OF THE JESUITS 173 

to be just as well as stern. The royal commis- 
sion proved that the French had come with proper 
authority. He rebuked Argall, apologized to La* 
Saussaye, and saw to it that the French prisoners 
of war should receive honorable treatment. 

Dale felt himself to be not only the High Mar- 
shal of Virginia, but also the sole official repre- 
sentative of England in America. When he 
learned from Father Biard that Port Royal had 
fallen on evil days, it seemed to him the right 
movement to evict the French from a holding 
which was within the territory granted by James I 
to the Plymouth Company. 

Argall was sent with a small war fleet of three 
vessels to put an end to the French colonies. He 
went first to Mt. Desert, razed what little building 
had been begun, cut down the Cross erected by 
the French and put one of his own in its place. 
A boat was sent to La Heve where the carved 
escutcheon of the Marquise de Guercheville was 
cut dovm and burned. Thence Argall sailed to 
the Island of St. Croix, seized a quantity of salt 
that had been prepared and set fire to the tumble- 
down colony of De Monts. 

This left Port Royal as the only remaining 
French settlement in Acadia. Not a soul was in 
the place when Argall sailed in. Biencourt and 
his soldiers were away on a visit to an Indian 
chief. The laborers were in the fields, some dis- 
tance up the inlet. The storehouses were well 
filled, for a supply ship from France had arrived 



174* THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

but a short time before. Cattle, horses and pigs 
were found in the enclosures. 

Rejoicing at this chance of easy conquest, the 
English butchered or carried off all the animals, 
emptied the storehouses, seized all the arms and 
ammunition, pried off every piece of ironwork — 
even to the locks of the doors — and then set fire 
to what remained. This done, an armed party 
was sent up the inlet to take the laborers pris- 
oners. 

They had hardly embarked their captives when 
Biencourt appeared with his men, only to find 
Port Royal a smoking ruin. The French com- 
mander asked for a parley. The conference was 
a stormy one. Argall offered to allow Biencourt 
to hold the place on condition that he should yield 
allegiance to the King of England, an offer that 
was scornfully refused. Biencourt demanded the 
person of Father Biard — ^who was on ArgalPs 
ship — admitting frankly that he desired to hang 
him. This could not be, for Argall was respon- 
sible to Dale for his prisoner. 

The English commander was eager to force a 
fight, for he had superior numbers on his side. 
Father Biard warned him that Biencourt had 
numerous Indian allies, *'who, at this very mo- 
ment, may be hidden in the forests, ready to 
strike.'' Biencourt would not surrender, and 
Argall did not dare to use force. The English, 
therefore, sailed away, having left the French in 
Acadia without any houses to live in, without any 







MiaUEL lOK fix 



OMINO riiii.ni'c sin\yj 

is 1 OMDI V I- \ S1-, 




-r^ 



^'S* 



---1 /, I 1 



'•Vl; 



/ 



a, 



k'Jif"" 



,^N 






V 



, A 



THE SEA OF VERRAZANO 

V^errazano is supposed to have crossed the Chesapeake Peninsula and saw beyond 
the wide waters of Chesapeake Bay. He indicated this narrow peninsula and the 
wide Western vSea on his map and it was copied on all maps thereafter. It was an 
opening into this sea that the Jamestown colonists were told to find and that lured 
Hudson ever north seeking it. 




HUDSON RECEIVING HIS SAILING ORDERS FROM THE MUSCOVY COMPANY 

Henry Hudson's first voyages of exploration were for the Muscovy Company, an 
English Company of merchant adventurers, incorporated for the purpose of trade 
with Russia and for the searching out of a passage nortli-easterly around Europe 
to China and Japan. 




HENRY HUDSON 



This portrait of Henry Hudson by Count Pulaski is one of the best and probably 
the most life-like portrait of any of the great explorers of that period. Though 
Henry Hudson was an Englishman, the chief immediate results of his exploration 
were reaped by the Dutch, but ultimately all of the territory claimed by the Dutch 
fell into the hands of the English chartered companies. 



THE COMING OF THE JESUITS 175 

domestic animals, without ammunition and with- 
out food. 

Soon after leaving Port Royal, a violent tem- 
pest separated the three English ships. The 
smallest vessel was never heard of again. Argall, 
who was an excellent sailor, managed to bring his 
badly battered ship back to Jamestown. The 
third vessel, that which had been captured from 
La Saussaye, sprang a leak. She was rendered 
so unseaworthy that her captain did not dare to 
beat before the western gale. He ran before the 
wind and bore away to the Azores. On this ship 
were Fathers Biard and Quentin and several 
other of the French prisoners. 

The presence of the Jesuit Fathers became an 
added danger to the English. If, on their arrival 
at the Azores, Father Biard should proclaim cap- 
tain and crew to be a gang of heretics who had 
sacked a settlement under the protection of the 
Jesuits, the Portuguese Catholics would be likely 
to slit the throat of every Englishman on board. 

At first it was seriously debated whether the 
Jesuit Father should be thrown overboard to 
drown, but wiser counsels prevailed. Fathers 
Biard and Quentin were hidden in the hold on 
their parole to make no outcry while the officials of 
the Azore Islands searched the ship. All passed 
without trouble. On their arrival in England, the 
Jesuits were treated with respect, and, after a 
short stay, they left for France. 

Biencourt was far from considering himself 



176 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

beaten. True, Port Eoyal was destroyed, but 
there were still stout French hearts around him, 
Indian allies about him, the woods were full of 
game and the seas did not lack for fish. He was 
young and strong and the pioneer life appealed to 
him. 

Thus he became the first of the French back- 
woodsmen, a true coureur de hois, who could hunt, 
trap and fish as well as his redskin brothers and 
who learned to speak their language as well as 
he did his own. Several of his men married In- 
dian girls. Instead of their reclaiming the forest, 
the forest reclaimed them. 

Poutrincourt worried greatly over the fate of 
his son. In the spring of 1614 he persuaded some 
Breton merchants to fit up a small ship and took 
command himself. He found Port Royal in the 
same state as the English had left it. Biencourt 
had been wise enough to learn that it was only by 
living with the Indians and like the Indians that 
his men could survive the winters. Poutrincourt, 
advanced in years and with a very different up- 
bringing from his son, saw no attraction in the 
backwoods life and returned to France. He died 
the year following, sword in hand, an officer in the 
army of the King. 

Biencourt labored on. No longer did he look to 
France for help, he made his own path. Many 
half-breed children were born to the French set- 
tlers, to become the great hunters and fur-traders 
of the next generation. From time to time some 



THE COMING OF THE JESUITS 177 

trading vessel came from France bringing a few 
men eager to take up the adventures of a pioneer 
Ufe. 

Slowly, but surely, the French reestablished 
themselves. Biencourt had inherited his father ^s 
grant and held it firmly. He abandoned the old 
site of Port Royal and built a small settlement at 
Annapolis Royal, twelve miles further up the inlet. 

England was not yet satisfied, but grudged to 
Biencourt his slender hold upon Acadia. In 1622 
James I granted to Sir William Alexander, Earl 
of Stirling, all Acadia and the St. Lawrence River 
basin. This was to be held by Alexander as a 
fief of the Crown of Scotland (James I was mon- 
arch of both kingdoms) and, accordingly, it was 
rechristened **Nova Scotia' ' (New Scotland). 

The Scotch lord came over with a mere handful 
of colonists, who settled at Port Royal and rebuilt 
the fortifications. The Scotch were wise enough 
not to make an enemy of Biencourt, who could 
have brought the Indians upon them any time he 
chose. They lived at peace with their neighbors, 
intermarried with the French and with the In- 
dians, and, later, with the halfbreeds. They 
adopted the French and Indian languages, as well 
as the customs of forest life. Moreover, in the 
French-English wars of a century later, these 
descendants of the Scotch had become so Galli- 
cized that they fought on the French side. 

Biencourt died in 1623, his possessions being in- 
herited by his comrade, Charles de la Tour. As 



178 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

the title was open to question, Claude de la Tour, 
father of Charles, petitioned Louis XIII that his 
son might be appointed Commandant of Acadia. 
The petition was granted. 

Claude de la Tour set sail for New France in 
April, 1628, on one of the four large ships sent 
by Cardinal Eichelieu to support Champlain at 
Quebec. The fleet was commanded by Admiral 
Eoquemont, one of the Hundred Associates, a 
powerful trading company which had become the 
governing force in the St. Lawrence. But, un- 
happily for Champlain, Roquemont was defeated 
by an English 'fleet under Admiral Kirk, and 
Claude de la Tour was among the prisoners 
brought to England. 

De la Tour was a Protestant. As civil war had 
broken out again between the Catholics and Prot- 
estants and as the Protestant city of Rochelle was 
in arms against Richelieu, de la Tour knew that 
he would be out of favor at the French court. It 
was almost certain that, if he returned, his son^s 
appointment would be canceled. Under these cir- 
cumstances, at the invitation of Sir William Alex- 
ander, Claude de la Tour renounced his allegiance 
to the French Crown, agreed to accept the Scotch- 
man's overlordship and was made a baronet of 
Nova Scotia, in 1629, sailing thither shortly after. 

Charles de la Tour, though indignant at his 
father's treason, accepted the inevitable, the more 
readily as he had maintained the friendship with 
the Scotch colony at Port RoyaL The French- 



THE COMING OF THE JESUITS 179 

English hostility lasted until 1632, when, by the 
Treaty of St. Germain, Charles I of England con- 
sented to restore to France **all the places occu- 
pied in New France, Acadia and Canada. ' ' 

The development of French power on the St. 
Lawrence under Champlain, the battles of Tadous- 
sac and Quebec, the strife with England, the story 
of Hebert and all the various aspects of the Treaty 
of St. Germain are matters properly belonging to 
the history of Canada. They will be treated else- 
where. 

In Acadia, the treaty of 1632 produced some 
curious results. "When the territory returned to 
the hands of France, Louis XIII appointed the 
Chevalier Razilly as Governor of Acadia. The 
lieutenant-governorship of the eastern half (com- 
prising Nova Scotia and Cape Breton) was given 
to D^Aulnay Charnisay, who made his headquar- 
ters at Port Royal; that of the western half (from 
St. Croix southwesterly to Cape Cod) was put 
in the hands of de la Tour, who made his head- 
quarters at Fort. St. Jean, on St. Croix Bay. De 
la Tour also established a permanent post as far 
south as the present site of Portland, Maine, 
which was known as Fort Loyal. 

Razilly withdrew from the Governorship and 
D'Aulnay claimed the supreme power, on the 
ground that Port Royal was the capital of the 
colony. The de la Tours, father and son, resisted 
him stoutly. Nine years of bitter feud ensued, 
the fur-hunters of both parties maintaining a 



180 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

savage warfare on each other. To strengthen his 
position, de la Tour pushed his outposts further 
and further south. 

D'Aulnay adopted other tactics. He strength- 
ened his position at the French court. There was 
little difficulty, for the de la Tours were in bad 
odor because of their treachery to France in the 
acceptance of English titles and submission to 
English authority. De la Tour's commission was 
annulled and he was bidden report himself in 
France to answer for his treachery and for his 
warfare on French subjects under D'Aulnay. 

The sturdy Protestant fur-trader defied Louis 
XIII and France. He refused to obey the order 
of the Catholic king, but was shrewd enough to 
base his refusal on the grounds that he did not 
dare to leave territory which had so recently been 
returned to France and which was coveted by 
England. 

Since de la Tour's commission had been can- 
celed, he had no further legal rights in Acadia. In 
1645, D'Aulnay made a concerted attack on Fort 
St. Jean, killed several of the settlers and hanged 
most of the men whom he took prisoners, as 
** rebels against His Most Christian Majesty of 
France,'' which they were. 

De la Tour escaped the massacre and took to a 
wild and buccaneer life. In two swift ships, which 
remained to him, he raided the coasts of D'Aul- 
nay's territory, swooped as a pirate on all trading 



THE COMING OF THE JESUITS 181 

vessels bound for Port Royal and rendered the 
position of his rival intolerable. 

After five years of sullen defense against this 
vigorous freebooter, D 'Aulnay was drowTied, leav- 
ing a widaw and eight children. De la Tour 
hastened to France, proved that he had both the 
experience and the men to take control of his 
own half of Acadia, and declared that the troubles 
in the colony had been due to personal matters 
and not to his disloyalty to France. He secured 
the renewal of his commission. 

Thus strengthened by royal favor, de la Tour 
hurried back to Port Royal. Thoroughly under-- 
standing the chivalrous character of French fron- 
tiersmen, he was clever enough to bring from 
Paris a number of articles — clothing and the like 
— as gifts to Mme. D 'Aulnay, for he realized that 
the followers of his former enemy would be even 
more loyal to the helpless widow than they had 
been to her husband. He managed his case so 
adroitly that he wooed and won Mme. D 'Aulnay, 
who had suffered great privations since her hus- 
band's death, and, on the occasion of the mar- 
riage, distributed gifts lavishly to all the men. 
Thus, once again, de la Tour was sole lord of 
Acadia and of the mainland coast as far south as 
Cape Cod. 

Such was the situation in this part of America, 
when the Great Rebellion took place in England, 
which resulted in the beheading of Charles I and 
the establishment of the Commonwealth under 



182 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Cromwell. The Puritan movement, of which this 
was the culmination, had an enormous effect upon 
the New World and opened a new phase of 
American history. 



CHAPTER IX 



HUDSOIT AND THE DUTCH 



The witty pen of Washington Irving wronght 
great injustice to a gallant race. His derisive 
humor has caused ^* Father Knickerbocker" and 
the Dutch founders of New Amsterdam to appear 
as comic personages on the pages of American 
history. Such a notion is not only false, but also 
grievously ungrateful. 

The Dutch were a heroic breed. They were the 
first people in Europe to understand religious 
liberty, the first to carve with their swords a free 
Republic, daring adventurers who won an empire 
in the East Indies, and incomparable sailors who 
even disputed with England the mastery of the 
sea. 

Such men handed down a noble heritage to their 
descendants, all the nobler in that Dutch honesty 
was proverbial. The United States is fortunate in 
that its great commercial metropolis of New York 
was founded by such a sturdy stock, and her his- 
tory would be the poorer if the deeds of the Dutch 
descendants were stricken out. 

The early history of the Dutch in America deals 

183 



184 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

mainly with the Hudson River, and, less urgently, 
with the Delaware. 

Strictly speaking, the Dutch had no claim to 
America on the grounds of discovery. Cabot 
probably, and Verrazano certainly, had visited the 
Hudson Eiver a century before the first Dutch 
vessel touched the shores of America. 

Verrazano passed through the Narrows and cast 
anchor in New York Bay. He rightly estimated 
the Hudson to be a river, not a strait, and hence 
did not sail up it, looking for the route to China, 
which was the object of his voyage. 

Aside from a coasting voyage made by Estevan 
Gomez, a Spaniard, in 1525, the French alone took 
advantage of Verrazano 's discovery, which had 
been made under the French flag. * * The River of 
Steep Hills, ' ' as Verrazano justly named the Hud- 
son, was a good entrance for fur-traders and a 
good harbor for ships. As early as 1540, French 
traders built a fort near the present site of Albany, 
at the head of navigation. In 1542, one of Rober- 
val's captains passed through Long Island Sound 
and Hell Gate and reported having met traders 
from St. Malo in the *' Great River, '^ which his 
description shows to have been the Hudson. By 
1570 there were three semi-permanent French 
trading posts on the river, one of these being sit- 
uated on Manhattan. 

Possibly Manhattan was not an island at this 
time, but a peninsula, partly traversed by the 
two streams now known as the Spuyten Duyvil 



HUDSON AND THE DUTCH 185 

Creek and the Harlem River, both easily f ordable. 
In recent years the water of the former has been 
turned into the latter, which has been artificially 
deepened and is not a river at all, but a tide-water 
canal. 

During this period, when France was ravaged 
by religious strife, England advanced in maritime 
adventuring. This was not confined to the semi- 
piratic seizure of Spanish treasure-ships, it also 
followed the more legitimate channels of trade. 

The most important venture in this direction 
was the Muscovy Company, incorporated for the 
purpose of trading with Russia and finding a route 
to China and the Indies by the Northeast pas- 
sage. At this time, all the region now known as 
Siberia was supposed to be sea — the Sea of Ver- 
razano, thought to have been visible from the Ches- 
apeake Peninsula. 

Among the most active officials of the Muscovy 
Company were several members of the Hudson 
family, from which Henry Hudson, the Navigator, 
sprang. In 1607 he was in command of an expedi- 
tion sent by the Muscovy Company to sail north- 
wards from Greenland, passing west of Spitz- 
bergen, in an effort to reach China by crossing the 
Polar Sea. He was stopped by the ice. The year 
following, Hudson tried for the same goal, passing 
through Barent's Sea, between Spitzbergen and 
Nova Zembla. Here, again, he found his way 
blocked by the Polar ice. 

While both these voyages failed in their object, 



186 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Hudson had reached the ^^furthest north" of his 
time, and his explorations had brought him fame. 
The Dutch East India Company succeeded in de- 
taching the great navigator from the service of 
the (EngUsh) Muscovy Company, and he sailed 
north under the flag of the Netherlands, on April 
4, 1609, to renew his effort to find the Northeast 
Passage. 

A few weeks before sailing, some news from 
America had turned Hudson's thoughts in that 
direction. Captain John Smith of Virginia had 
thoroughly explored Chesapeake Bay, which 
Verrazano had seen from the Chesapeake 
Peninsula and had believed to be the ocean 
that washed the shores of China. Smith had 
found no strait into the supposed Sea of Verra- 
zano, but he thought it probable that there might 
be such a strait, further to the north, and he had 
written to Hudson to this effect.; This letter 
from John Smitn to Hudson was to have a con- 
siderable effect upon the later history of America. 

On reaching Nova Zembla, Hudson found the 
seas as ice-bound and impassable as they had been 
the two seasons before. He took counsel with his 
officers and crew, read Smith 's letter to them, and 
with their agreement, decided to cross the Atlantic 
and seek the Northwest Passage instead of the 
Northeast Passage. He hoped to find an opening 
into the Sea of Verrazano somewhere north of 
the northernmost latitude explored by Smith. 

Hudson's craft, the EaUf-Moon, was all too 



HUDSON AND THE DUTCH 187 

small for such long voyages, being of but 80 tons 
and carrying a crew of 18 men, all told. Although 
buffeted by severe weather, during which the Half- 
Moon lost her foremast, the explorer reached 
Penobscot Bay, Maine, on July 18, 1609. He 
stayed there some little time, making a new fore- 
mast from a huge pine tree his men cut in the 
woods, and repairing the damaged sails. 

Thence he sailed southward by easy stages, 
arriving, at last, at Machipongo Inlet on the Ches- 
apeake Peninsula. Hudson mistook this inlet for 
the entrance which led to the James River, and, 
feeling that the English colonists would resent the 
presence of the Dutch expedition, he turned again 
to the northward. 

On August 28, the Half -Mo on entered Delaware 
Bay. The wide entrance gave him hopes that this 
might be the long-desired strait, but the vessel 
soon encountered numerous shoals and a strong 
outward current. Hudson realized that a river 
bringing down so much silt could not arise on 
such a narrow neck of land as was shown on Ver- 
razano 's map. The strait could not be here. 

Sailing out of Delaware Bay, ^Hudson struck 
northwards, along the coast of what is now New 
Jersey. At Sandy Hook another great opening 
lay before him. He entered it and, on September 
3, 1609, dropped anchor in Lower New York Bay, 
between Sandy Hook and Staten Island. 

Here, again, his hopes ran high. In entering 
the Narrows, between Long Island and Staten 



188 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Island, lie found himself in New York harbor, 
another wide stretch of water. Following the 
southern coast of this, he came to an estuary, a 
mile wide, subject to the fluctuations of the tide. 
This seemed the long-sought strait. He sailed up 
past Manna-hatta Peninsula (or Island) hoping, 
with every turn of the shore, to see the great sea 
opening before him. Haverstraw Bay increased 
his confidence. 

But, alas for his hopes, just above the present 
site of Peekskill, he reached the point where the 
river narrows almost to a gorge. The influence of 
the tide had weakened, and Hudson realized that 
he was in a river. He sailed as far as the head 
of navigation and turned back. He found the 
Indians friendly and the soil fertile. Having 
thoroughly mapped the Hudson Eiver, he set sail 
for Europe. 

Arriving near England, the Englishmen aboard 
insisted on being set ashore. They had been 
engaged for the summer only, and winter was 
approaching. On November 7, the Half -Mo on 
put in at Dartmouth. Hudson sent to Amsterdam 
a report of his voyage, and asked for more sup- 
plies and men. 

The Dutch merchants ordered Hudson to report 
himself in Holland. They were plainly dissatis- 
fied, since the navigator's western voyage had 
been made in contradiction of the orders he had 
received to seek the Indies by the Northeast Pas- 
sage. 



HUDSON AND THE DUTCH 189 

The news of Hudson's discovery of the fertile 
Hudson Valley, with a wide and navigable estuary, 
had greatly excited the English merchants. They 
were annoyed that the expedition had been under 
the Dutch flag, and appealed to James I to compel 
the English navigator to remain in the service 
of England. Hudson was ready enough to do so, 
especially as the Dutch merchants were unwilling 
to grant him complete liberty of action. 

Under the Muscovy Company, the Discoverie 
was fitted up, and Hudson set sail again on April 
10, 1610, to continue his search for the strait sug- 
gested by Captain John Smith. He kept well to 
the north. From Florida to Chesapeake the Span- 
iards had found no strait. In Chesapeake Bay, 
Smith had exhausted the possibilities. From 
Chesapeake to Maine, Hudson had explored the 
coast himself. The French had failed to find any 
opening in Acadia or St. Lawrence Gulf and River. 
If a strait there should prove to be, it must lie 
further to the north. Hudson spent the summer 
of 1610 along the Labrador coast. 

Then came apparent triumph. The continent 
of North America came to an end. A great land 
(Baffin Land) stretched to the north. Between 
them lay a narrow opening. The strait was found 
at last ! 

Hudson sailed in, to find before him a great arm 
of the sea, a hundred miles wide and five hundred 
miles long, that stretch of water now known as 
Hudson Strait. For many days he sailed to the 



190 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

westward, his heart beating ever higher and higher 
in hope. Daily, even hourly, he searched for a 
great sea — the Sea of Verrazano — to open to the 
southward. He slept on the deck, his ears half- 
open for the watchman's hail. 

Came joy unbounded! He found the sea he 
sought I Eound the point now called Cape Wos- 
tenholme, he saw what seemed to be a boundless 
ocean before him. Triumphantly, he sailed south- 
ward down this great sea (Hudson Bay) for over 
seven hundred miles until he came to its southern 
shore at 52°, almost the same latitude as Amster- 
dam. 

It is not surprising that the navigator should 
have taken Hudson Bay to be a sea, for, with 
Fox Channel, it is nearly as large as the Medi- 
terranean ; nor is it surprising that he should have 
believed it to open westward into the Pacific 
Ocean, for Hudson Bay is over five hundred miles 
wide, and lies west of the longitude of Peru. 

Hudson had hoped, by sailing southward, to 
escape the clutch of an Arctic winter. When he 
reached James Bay, at the same latitude as Am- 
sterdam, he had reason to expect free water and 
a season not too rigorous. The climatic terrors 
of a northern land-locked bay were unknown. He 
was soon to learn them. 

Floe ice and pack ice surrounded the hapless 
Discoverie. There was no escape to the north, 
the frozen land lay to the south. From November 
3, 1610, to June 18, 1611, the ship was held fast. 




THE HALF MOON 

A model of Henry Hudson's ship. The Half Moon. In this little ship scarcely larger 
than a small yacht and with a crew of but 18 men, Hudson explored the coast from 
Maine to Delaware. 




HUDSON INTERVIEWS THE INDIANS OF MANHATTAN 

Hudson later entered the employ of the Dutch East India Company and on his first 
voyage sailed up the Hudson, to the site of Albany. His good reports of the country 
aroused the Dutch to further trading and colonizing efforts. 




VAN DER DONCK's MAP OF NEW NETHERLANDS 1656 

This map shows the ultimate results of the Dutch "patronships" established under 
the direction of the Dutch West India Company and the later Dutch Governors, 
ending with the rule ot Peter Stuyvesant. 



HUDSON AND THE DUTCH 191 

No one could have imagined sucli thickness of ice 
in the middle of summer. The crew had not 
counted on any such frigid imprisonment as this, 
and mutinied secretly. The sailors determined 
that, as soon as the ice should break, they would 
sail for England whether their commander were 
willing or no. 

When the ship was released, Hudson insisted 
on following the shore to the westward, expecting 
at any moment to see the land turn sharply south- 
ward and thus form the western shore of North 
America. There was, as yet, no knowledge of the 
Eocky Mountains barrier. There was reason to 
expect that the shore by which he was sailing 
would presently join the shore near the mouth 
of the Columbia River, where Drake had landed. 

The men mutinied openly. Under the lead of 
Henry Green, Hudson 's secretary, they seized the 
navigator and his young son, and cruelly set them 
adrift upon that waste of unknown waters, mth 
seven sick men and scarcely any food. They were 
never heard of more. 

Green and some other of the ringleaders were 
slain by Indians on the way home, but the Dis- 
coverie reached England at last. They told their 
story to the officers of the Muscovy Company and 
the survivors were thrown into jail as mutineers. 
Eescue expeditions were dispatched under Butler, 
in 1612 ; under Gibbons, in 1613 ; and under Baffin, 
in 1614. These daring navigators explored Hud- 
son Bay thoroughly and proved that there was no 



192 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

westward strait, but found no sign of Hudson or 
Ms men. 

The Dutch East India Company had objected 
to Hudson's voyage to the west and therefore had 
taken no advantage of his discoveries. Other 
Dutch traders were not so scrupulous. As early 
as 1610, some bluff -bowed vessels from the Neth- 
erlands made their way to Hudson River, which 
they called the Prince Maurice or Mauritius River. 
More followed in 1611. By 1612 the Dutch had 
established permanent posts on the sites of the 
old French forts at Manhattan and Albany. 
Among the principal traders were Hendrick 
Christiansen and Adriaen Block. 

In 1613, Captain Samuel Argall, on his way 
back from destroying the French settlements in 
Acadia, sailed through the Narrows to investigate 
a report of Dutch intrusion on the Hudson River. 
England and Holland were at peace, but Argall 
ordered Christiansen to haul down the Dutch flag 
and to run up an English one instead. Christian- 
sen obeyed mthout protest. No sooner was Ar- 
galPs ship out of sight, however, than the Dutch 
flag was run up again, and there remained. This 
incident of the flags had an important effect on 
New England history, later. 

In the autumn of 1613, Block's ship, the Tiger, 
but recently arrived from Holland, took fire and 
was burned to the water's edge. Undaunted, 
Block built himself a small sloop, which he named 
the Onrust (Restless). Next spring he sailed in 



HUDSON AND THE DUTCH 193 

this tiny craft through Hell Gate, along Long 
Island Sound, explored the Connecticut River as 
far as the present site of Hartford, called at Block 
Island — which still bears his name — and explored 
Narragansett Bay. Thence he passed by Texel 
(Martha's Vineyard) and Vlieland (Nantucket), 
round Cape Cod and across Massachusetts Bay 
to Pye Bay (Nahant). This voyage of the little 
Onrust was destined to have important results. 

Two parties struggled for supremacy in the 
Netherlands, the Flemish and the Dutch. The 
Flemish, refugees from Belgium, were warlike and 
aggressive, eager to drive out the last vestige of 
Spanish power; they were headed by William 
Usselincx. The Dutch, having the political con- 
trol, wanted to be sure of keeping it by maintain- 
ing peace ; their leader was John of Olden Barne- 
veld. 

The Flemish were ardent colonists. Through 
the exertions of Usselincx an Ordinance was 
passed in 1614, giving trade monopolies to dis- 
coverers of unoccupied lands. By Block's voyage 
in the OnrK^t, a group of merchants associated 
with him secured exclusive trading and coloniza- 
tion rights from the Upper Delaware as far north 
as the present Canadian border. 

There were thus three different countries which 
claimed this same territory. Elizabeth of Eng- 
land had given it to Raleigh, and James I later 
had turned it over to the Plymouth Company. 
Louis XIII had included it in the grant to the 



194. THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Marquise de Guerclieville. The provinces of Hol- 
land and Friesland assigned rights of occupancy 
to Dutch traders. Such a rivalry was bound to 
bring on war. 

Chief of the early settlements established by 
the Dutch on the Hudson was Fort Nassau. 
Jacob Elkens was placed in command and he made 
an alliance with the Mohawks in 1618 by promis- 
ing to sell fhem firearms to use against the French. 
The shots from Champlain's arquebuss were be- 
ginning to bear their fatal fruit. 

The year following, John of Olden Bameveld, 
head of the Dutch peace party, was beheaded for 
treason. Usselincx urged on Flemish coloniza- 
tion. The trading posts developed into colonies. 

This was not at all to England 's liking. In the 
spring of 1620, Sir Fernando Gorges of the Ply- 
mouth Company sent Captain Dermer to the Hud- 
son Eiver. Dermer, politely but firmly, informed 
the Dutch traders that they were on land which 
belonged to the Plymouth Company. The Dutch 
reply was that, while they did not wish to give 
offense, they held that occupation gave the right 
of possession. 

As soon as Dermer 's report was received in 
England, the Council for New England was 
formed, which secured a royal grant for all the 
territory between 40° and 48°, including both New 
Netherland and New France. This done, England 
officially advised Holland that the Dutch were 
trespassing on EngHsh territory. Holland replied 



HUDSON AND THE DUTCH 195 

in a manner that might have brought on war, had 
it not been that neither government was suffi- 
ciently stable at the time to risk combat with a 
powerful rival. 

In 1623, the actual Dutch colonization of Amer- 
ica was begun, under the direction of the Dutch 
West India Company. The New Netherlmid 
brought 100 colonists in the spring of that year. 
These divided into six groups, at New Amster- 
dam, at Fort Orange (near Albany), at Fort Nas- 
sau II (near Philadelphia), at Fort Good Hope 
(near Hartford, Connecticut), on Staten Island, 
and on Wallabout Bay (the Brooklyn Navy Yard). 
The first Governor was Cornelius Jacobsen May. 

This scattering had been done in the expecta- 
tion of the arrival of ship-loads of colonists. Few 
came. The settlers were recalled to New Amster- 
dam. In 1624 May was superseded by William 
Verhulst, and in 1625 he gave place to Peter 
Minuit, the strongest figure of early Dutch colo- 
nial history in America. 

Minuit ^s arrival coincided with two important 
changes in Europe. The first was the death of 
James I of England, the second was the death 
of Prince Maurice of Orange, ruler of the Nether- 
lands, a few weeks later. Charles I signed the 
Treaty of Southampton with Prince Frederick of 
Orange, providing that both countries should 
maintain fleets to prey upon Spain, and that the 
ports of each nation should be open to the ships 
of the other. This was followed in 1627 by a 



196 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

proclamation giving the Dutch full right to trade 
anywhere with England and her dependencies. 
While New Netherland was not thus recognized, 
the trading rights of the Dutch in America were 
permitted. 

Minuit's first action was judicious. He bought 
from the Manhattan Indians (of the Lenape Con- 
federacy) all title to Manhattan Island for a sup- 
ply of beads and ribbons to the value of sixty 
guilders (equivalent to $120 in modern money). 
A fort was built (near Bowling Green). East of 
it ran a straggling row of log-houses, accommo- 
dating about 200 people. A couple of farms or 
bouweries lay north of this and the primeval 
forest was entered where the heart of New York 
is now. 

During the ten years 1620-1630, while the Dutch 
colony of New Netherland advanced so slowly, 
the English colony of New England had gone by 
leaps and bounds. The English pressed closer 
and closer to the Dutch settlements and did not 
fail to remind Minuit that he was an intruder. 
The Dutch governor retained courteous relations 
with the governor of New England and continued 
to build up his colony. The remarkable success 
of the Dutch on the high seas, when they smashed 
one Spanish fleet after another, also maintained 
the prestige of Holland in the eyes of the Puritans 
of New England. 

Emigration to New Netherland was slow. As 
soon as the gripe of Spain was withdrawn from 



HUDSON AND THE DUTCH 197 

Holland and Belgium, those countries became 
prosperous. The farmers were content to stay 
where they were. Since the Netherlands permitted 
complete religious toleration, there were no perse- 
cuted refugees eager to escape to another land. 

In order to stimulate colonization, the Dutch 
West India Company established ^'patroonships.'' 
This type of government was a form of feudal 
system, somewhat after the Maryland pattern. 
A patroonship was granted to any person who, 
within four years after the year 1629, should bring 
fifty adults to New Netherland at his own expense, 
clear the farm-land for his tenants, build houses 
and barns, and provide cattle, seed-graini and 
farm utensils out of his own pocket. In return 
for this expenditure of capital, the patroon was 
granted sixteen miles of river frontage, either on 
the Hudson, Delaware or other navigable stream, 
the property running back into the country indefi- 
nitely. The holdings of the tenants were supposed 
to be large and the Company undertook to provide 
the patroons with negro slaves as rapidly as pos- 
sible. 

The fates of the three principal patroonships 
may be told briefly : 

Godyn and Blommaert, two of the directors, 
and Captain De Vries, took up what is now the 
State of Delaware. Their purpose was the whale 
fishery. Famine and Indian massacre destroyed 
the colony and when De Vries came out in 1632 
with supplies and more men, he found nothing 



198 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

but the bones of the former colonists remaining. 
The project was abandoned. 

Michael Pauw, also a director, secured for him- 
seK all Staten Island and the south shore of the 
Hudson, inclusive of the present sites of Hoboken 
and Jersey City. This patroonship lasted for seven 
years, always under threats of Indian raids. It 
was difficult to get tenants. The estate did not 
pay expenses and Pauw resold it to the Company 
for a price lower than the money he had spent on 
it during those seven years. 

Very different was the success of Kilian van 
Rensselaer, an Amsterdam lapidary of much 
wealth, who secured for his patroonship the land 
now contained in Albany and Eensselaer Coun- 
ties. He took the precaution of making friends 
with the Mohawks, and paying them for the land. 
He secured for his colonists an excellent body of 
farmers, and the estate throve. His descendants 
were for many years among the most important 
and wealthy settlers of the Hudson VaUey. 

The patroon system had one serious weakness. 
It was designed as an agricultural plan only, and 
the patroons were forbidden from engaging in the 
fur trade, which was expressly reserved as the 
monopoly of the Company. The patroons saw 
that there was more money in fur-trading than in 
crops, and could not be stopped from dealing with 
the Indians. Minuit was accused of favoring the 
patroons rather than the Company. He denied 
the charge, but the dwindling of the Company's 



HUDSON AND THE DUTCH 199 

fur receipts was an unanswerable argument, and, 
in 1632, Governor Minuit was recalled. 

He sailed in March of that year in the Eendragt 
(Union) . A storm drove the vessel into Plymouth 
Harbor, where her captain was at once arrested 
for illegal trading with English dominions in 
America. Minuit was detained on the charge that 
his colony, with its agricultural patroonships, 
could not be construed as a trading post. 

A vigorous diplomatic controversy ensued, in 
which, for the first time, the Dutch claim to New 
Netherland was squarely made. England finally 
refused to admit Holland's jurisdiction, but 
allowed the Dutch to remain if they would agree 
to become English subjects. Minuit was released. 
The Eendragt was permitted to proceed to New 
Amsterdam, her valuable cargo of beaver skins 
untouched. 

With the close of Minuit 's governorship, the 
colony of New Netherland entered upon a new 
phase, belonging to colonial expansion rather than 
colonial planting. Of the governorships of 
Wouter van Twiller, sometimes called *Hhe 
Doubter," of William Kieft 'Hhe Wasp'' and of 
the choleric one-legged Peter Stuyvesant, who held 
the difficult post for seventeen hard years, there 
is much to be told. The Dutch controlled the Hud- 
son Eiver Valley for over fifty years and laid the 
foundation of a sturdy stock of whose achieve- 
ments in the centuries to come, America would be 
justly proud. 



CHAPTER X 

WANDEBINGS OF THE PILGEIMS 

New England! How much the words mean in 
American history I Yet how different is America 
from that New England which the Pilgrims and 
the Puritans established! The somber figure of 
the Puritan has largely overshadowed the kind- 
lier figure of the Pilgrim, but it was the Pilgrim 
who showed the way hither. 

The United States was mainly formed of a 
mingling of ^^ Virginia'' and New England. The 
earliest home of Englishmen in the New World 
was in Virginia. During the colonial period, Vir- 
ginia led. In the struggle for independence Vir- 
ginia took a principal part. The first president 
of the United States was a Virginian. 

Yet the government, the laws and the customs 
of the United States are more reminiscent of New 
England than of Virginia. The abolition of caste 
is a northern feature rather than a southern. Re- 
ligiously regarded, the position of the United 
States, with its hundreds of conflicting sects, re- 
sembles neither the intolerance of New England 
nor the state church position of Virginia; its toler- 

200 



WANDERINGS OF THE PILGRIMS 201 

ance springs rather from individnalism than from 
autocracy and has taken character from both. 

As briefly as may be, it must be told how the 
Pilgrims and Puritans came to be. It has already 
been shown how the English Church severed itself 
from the Roman Catholic Church, and became 
simultaneously both a Catholic and a Protestant 
Church, retaining Catholic rites with Protestant 
ways of thinking. 

This appeared to be an unhappy compromise to 
the extremists of both parties. Neither was sat- 
isfied. Of the two groups, the ultra-Protestants 
were the more discontent. They objected to out- 
ward signs of church worship, they attacked the 
authority of bishops, and they held that all people 
who did not lead godly lives should be expelled 
from the Church. They took, also, the still more 
sweeping ground that neither the Crown, the mag- 
istrates nor the. Church had any right to dictate 
to any man in religious matters. 

In those days, such a position was regarded as 
treason. Even Parliament — which was strongly 
Protestant in character — was compelled to repel 
so revolutionary a movement. It enacted that 
anyone who denied the authority of the Queen in 
ecclesiastical cases or who should frequent non- 
authorized churches, should be imprisoned, and, if 
stubborn, should lose his house and lands and be 
banished. 

At first, the ultra-Protestants — who came to be 
known as Puritans — did not wish to break away 



202 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

from the Church, but rather to reform it. There 
was an extreme group in this party, however, 
which went much further. They opposed any and 
every form of church government. They held 
that each congregation should be a separate unit 
and should think and do as it pleased. These men 
were known as Separatists and from their ranks 
the Pilgrim Fathers came. 

It was around the head of a most extraordinary 
man that the storm first broke. This was 
^^Trouble-Church" Browne, a man of good family 
and learning, possessed of considerable wealth 
and only happy when he was being talked about. 
He was educated at Cambridge University, but 
refused to be ordained by a bishop or to take the 
money of the state for preaching. He went to 
the town of Norwich and preached to a congrega- 
tion there, living on his own means. 

In 1583 '^^The Church of the Very Forward" 
was organized in Norwich, a town filled with Dutch 
refugees who had fled from the Spanish Inquisi- 
tion. Many of these refugees were Anabaptists, 
a sect of violent Separatists from Europe, bitterly 
hated by all other Protestants. Several of the 
Anabaptists joined **The Church of the Very For- 
ward. * ' 

Browne traveled all over Norfolk, becoming 
more and more violent as he went. He possessed 
a logical mind but an appalling fluency in vitu- 
peration. He had a viper's tongue. *^His curses 
on Queen and Church," wrote a contemporary, 



WANDERINGS OF THE PILGRIMS 203 

**make the very street-rufi&ans shudder.'' He was 
twice imprisoned, but was released at the request 
of Lord Burghley, who was his kinsman. 

From England he went to Holland, where a 
small group of the most extreme English Sepa- 
ratists had gathered, under Cartwright. There 
Browne 's extravagant violence passed beyond all 
bounds. He announced that every member of a 
church had the right to examine and criticize the 
private life of every other member, to decide 
whether he or she were a saint or no. Some 
fanatics tried to follow his advice. A cyclone of 
scandal, spite and abuse broke loose. The congre- 
gation went to pieces immediately. 

Then Browne took to writing Separatist books 
of a most inflammatory and treasonable character. 
These were printed in Holland and shipped to 
England. Two of his friends were hanged for 
circulating them. 

After a while Browne got tired of Holland. 
Wishing to return to England he changed his 
opinions, recanted, agreed to obey the Church of 
England, and was allowed to come home. He 
broke out again, however, and was arrested. 
When warned that he might be hanged if he con- 
tinued this violence, Browne agreed to become 
ordained and lived for thirty years afterwards 
as a parish clergyman of the Church of England. 
This abandonment by their leader was a terrible 
blow to the Separatists of England, who had 
prided themselves on being called **Brownists.'' 



204 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Very different in character were the next lead- 
ers of the movement, Henry Barrow and John 
Greenwood. Of their sincerity there was never 
any question. Barrow spent most of his life in 
prison, but wrote continuously. Greenwood di- 
rected a congregation in Southwark, London, un- 
til he also was thrown into jail for attacking the 
Queen. 

Both men were tried and sentenced to death. 
Elizabeth refused to allow them to be hanged. 
Barrow and Greenwood mistook the royal clem- 
ency for weakness. They issued some more 
pamphlets, so revolutionary, so seditious and so 
gross in their accusations that they could not be 
overlooked. Elizabeth gave her consent, and both 
men were hanged. The Queen regretted her de- 
cision, however, and said to the bishops who had 
urged the sentence, 

*^My Lords, it is a sad matter when good men 
are put to death in my realm ! ' ' 

She never permitted any execution of Separa- 
tists thereafter. 

The Queen ^s combined pity and sternness had 
their effect. Browne had conformed. Barrow 
and Greenwood were dead. Two of the colpor- 
teurs of seditious literature had been hanged. A 
third confessed and received the royal pardon. 
The most unyielding members had emigrated to 
Holland. 

When Elizabeth died, in 1603, the Separatists 
hoped to find a milder monarch in James I. They 



WANDERINGS OF THE PILGRIMS 205 

were mistaken. The Stuart king feared the new 
sect, and, like most weak men, he loved to bully 
the weaker. At the Hampton Court Conference, 
he announced, 

*'I will make them conform, or I will harry 
them out of this land, or else worse.'' 

The exodus of the Pilgrim Fathers was the di- 
rect result of this policy of James I. 

Several small communities of Separatists had 
developed in a small triangle of country where 
the counties of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and 
Lincolnshire join. The most important was at 
Scrooby. Richard Clyfton was its pastor, John 
Robinson its teacher, "William Brewster its elder 
and William Bradford its strongest layman. 
From this congregation the Pilgrim Fathers came. 
A second group, which also played a part in the 
history of America, was at Gainsborough, and 
John Smyth was its pastor. 

The troubles of the Separatists grew heavier 
and heavier. The Puritans did not love them. 
The Presbyterians regarded them as a thorn in 
the flesh. The Church persecuted them. The 
magistrates suspected them as traitors. They sent 
a petition to James I, but the King curtly an- 
swered that if they would not conform *^they 
must dispose of themselves and their families 
some other ways." 

Exile became compulsory. Holland was beck- 
oning them. There were two Separatist congre- 
gations in Amsterdam. One was the ** Ancient 



206 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Church of English Exiles,'* founded in 1594 from 
Greenwood's congregation and Barrow's friends. 
The other was a group, under Francis Johnson, 
which had sailed from England in 1597, with the 
intention of colonizing Newfoundland, but which 
had been attacked by pirates and had turned to- 
wards home ; knowing that they would not be per- 
mitted to land in England, these Separatists had 
sailed for Holland. 

Flight from Scrooby and from Gainsborough 
was more easy to decide upon than to accomplish. 
It was a life and death matter. In order to leave 
England, a royal license was necessary. James I 
was not anxious to be gracious to a sect he hated. 
The Pilgrims of Scrooby did not dare to ask for a 
license, but, in 1607, determined to flee secretly. 

They arranged with an English captain to meet 
them at a small fishing village not far from Bos- 
ton, in Lincolnshire. Selling all that they could 
not carry, and becoming *^ pilgrims and wanderers 
upon the earth," they set forth. They were so 
afraid of being late that they arrived at Boston 
several days too early. The captain did not ap- 
pear until a week after the date appointed. 

This fortnight's delay was expensive, and, what 
was worse, dangerous. It excited suspicion. The 
people of Boston asked who these people could 
be, who could give no account of themselves and 
seemed to be waiting for something, what, they 
w^ould not say. 

When the captain finally arrived, he learned of 




THE PILGRIMS ON THE MAYFLOWER 

From the decoration in the Boston State House by Henry OHver Walber. 




THE PlI (.RIMS VTTEMPT TO ESCAPE TO HOLLAND 

Fortunately for the Pilgrims, Bradford was one of those who escaped from the officers 
ot the crown and reached the Dutch ship and from Holland was able to make better 
arrangements for assisting those who remained behind to follow him. 




From a painting by George H. Broiighion R.A. 



THE FIRST THANKSGIVING IN AMERICA 



Scarcely had the Pilgrims landed when a few gathered together, gave earnest thanks 
for safe deliverance from the perils of the sea, and asked a blessing upon their new 
colony. 



WANDERINGS OF THE PILGRIMS 207 

this talk. He realized the risk he was running 
in carrying suspected persons who had no license 
to leave. As soon as the Pilgrims were all on 
board, he turned back into the harbor, betrayed 
the would-be exiles to the authorities, and the Pil- 
grims were led through the streets of Boston in 
derision. 

The Boston magistrates, however, were inclined 
towards Puritanism rather than towards the 
Church. They treated the Pilgrims with as little 
harshness as the laws would allow. They could 
not allow them to sail without a royal license, of 
course, and they had no right to give such. So, 
putting Bradford, Brewster and five other of the 
leaders in prison, the magistrates released the 
rest. 

This might be merciful, but it was but a mod- 
erate sort of mercy. It left the Scrooby men and 
women to wander homeless on the Lincolnshire 
fens during a severe winter. Some of the towns- 
folk of Boston and some of the country-folk of the 
fens took pity on these hapless refugees and gave 
them shelter and food, in charity. Nevertheless, 
many died. 

In the spring of 1608, another attempt was 
made. This time, the contract was made with a 
Dutch captain, who would not be tempted to be- 
tray them to the English authorities. In order to 
avoid reawakening suspicion in Boston, the place 
chosen for the embarkation was a lonely moor- 



208 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

land shore on the Humber, between Grimsby and 
Hull. 

The men marched the weary miles on foot, sleep- 
ing in the open, for they dared not ask for shelter, 
lest the alarm should be raised. Their only aim 
was a desire to worship in their own way, their 
only crime was an attack upon the way that others 
worshiped. Yet, for this, they were stealing 
across the fens like hunted criminals, fearing that 
every cottage light might be a signal to their foes, 
that every hoof -beat on the road might be bring- 
ing news of the betrayal of their plans. 

The women and children were sent off in a small 
sailing boat, that they might reach the embarking 
point with less fatigue. But the day was stormy, 
the sea was rough and most of the women were 
seasick. They begged for a quiet night's sleep. 

The boatmen were unwilling, for they were re- 
sponsible for the safe arrival of their charges, 
but the women were in such distress that they 
agreed. In order to be well hidden, they ran the 
boat up a narrow creek in the muddy fen coim- 
try, a creek up which none of the boatmen had 
ever been. 

"When the tide went down, the boat rested on 
the mud. Heavily laden, she sank into the suck- 
ing ooze so deeply that, at the next high tide, 
she did not rise. The mud gripped her fast. The 
water rose over the gunwales, ruining most of the 
provisions which had been prepared for the voy- 



WANDERINGS OF THE PILGRIMS 209 

age and soaking many of the bundles which con- 
tained the Pilgrims' all. 

This caused a fatal delay. The Dutch skip- 
per arrived at the appointed spot, just at dawn, 
for he knew that he was carrying a dangerous 
cargo, and did not want to wait off shore a sec- 
ond longer than was necessary to board his pas- 
sengers. 

But the women and the children were not there ! 

In all haste, he sent one of his boats away to 
fetch the laggards, which left him with but one 
boat to transfer the other passengers to his ship 
from the shore. 

He had just taken the first boat-load aboard 
when he saw a strong body of horsemen come gal- 
loping over the hill. 

Not wanting to be clapped into prison, the 
Dutch skipper recalled his boats, hoisted anchor, 
made sail and stood away, just as the King's of- 
ficers reached the beach. They waved a paper and 
beckoned him to return, but the Dutch skipper 
threw a piece of canvas over his stern, so that 
the name of his vessel could not be read, and 
headed for the choppy waters of the North Sea. 
The weather was ugly and speedily developed into 
a storm, which drove the little craft to the coast 
of Norway, where she was all but wrecked, but, 
after much delay, she reached Amsterdam in 
safety. 

The ofiicers were unable to do anything. They 
could not arrest the Pilgrims who had not em- 



210 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

barked, for as yet they had done nothing illegal. 
They were compelled to return to Boston, while 
those of the men who had been left behind went 
to the rescue of the women and children, still wait- 
ing by their water-logged boat stuck in a muddy 
creek. 

Fortunately for the Pilgrims, Bradford was 
one of those who had reached the Dutch ship, and, 
from Holland, he was able to make better arrange- 
ments for the journey. Most of the Pilgrims 
who remained were plundered of all they had, or 
were compelled to sell even their spare clothing 
to buy food. Finally, by the kindly blindness of 
the Boston magistrates, all the surviving members 
of the Scrooby congregation made their way to 
Holland, although penniless. 

The Gainsborough congregation emigrated 
without any such disasters. Its pastor, John 
Smyth, had been a clergyman of the Church un- 
til a couple of years before, and was not as well 
known as a Separatist. The emigrants were 
fewer in number and less conspicuous. They 
reached Amsterdam in the summer of 1608, while 
Bradford was trying to collect the scattered mem- 
bers of the Scrooby flock. 

The Pilgrims decided not to join the *^ Ancient 
Church of English Exiles,'^ but continued their 
own congregation under the pastorate of John 
Eobinson. For this independence they were soon 
devoutly thankful. 

Soon after their arrival the controversy over 



WANDERINGS OF THE PILGRIMS 211 

the minister 's wife *s hat arose. This proved more 
important than so trifling a matter would suggest. 
It led to the coming of Pilgrims to America. 

Francis Johnson was pastor of the Ancient 
Church when the Pilgrims arrived. A short time 
before their coming, he had married a widow. 
The lady preferred gayer colors in her dresses 
than most of the godly Separatists approved. 

One Sunday, Mistress Johnson appeared in the 
meeting house with a velvet hat. The council of 
the church discussed the matter gravely and sol- 
emnly, and finally gave a decision that the hat 
was too **topish" or showy. Johnson defended 
his wife. The quarrel raged for three years, and 
finally the church split over the hat, the stricter 
party, under Ainsworth, forming a congregation 
of its own. 

The Johnson congregation played a minor part 
in American colonization. Blackwall became pas- 
tor on the death of Johnson in 1618, and under- 
took to lead his flock to Virginia. He took ship 
with his fellow-members to London, but the 
Separatists were promptly arrested, not having 
a license to sail. The Virginia Company did not 
want any religious quarreling in Jamestown, and 
told those who wished to go that they must submit 
to the bishops. 

A few did so, since they had abandoned their 
homes in Holland, and England would neither 
allow them to land nor permit them to sail. 
'* Having secured the blessing of the Archbishop 



212 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

by ill means,'' as one of their leaders said, 
they grew ashamed of themselves and began to 
quarrel violently with each other. The Company 
had little interest in them, the bishops sneered at 
them, their fellow-passengers despised them. 
They left London ill-led and worse equipped. 
Many died of disease or hunger before reaching 
Virginia. The few that survived found themselves 
regarded with suspicion and aversion, and were 
eventually absorbed. 

The Gainsborough congregation fared little bet- 
ter under the leadership of its eccentric pastor 
John Smyth. He reached the point, at last, of 
declaring the English translation of the Bible to 
be useless, and openly asserted that no one who 
had not read it in the original Hebrew and Greek 
could be sure of salvation. He became a violent 
opponent of Calvinism, which cost him most of his 
members and his church fell to pieces. 

Pastor Johnson's wife's hat and Smyth's at- 
tack on the English version of the Bible caused 
an entire change of plan on the part of the Pil- 
grim Fathers. Their pastor, John Robinson, was 
the ablest and most sincerely spiritual man of all 
the leaders of the English Separatists in Amster- 
dam. That godly men should worry more over a 
woman's hat than about their faith was more than 
he could stand. He decided to shake the dust of 
Amsterdam off his feet. 

In February, 1609, Robinson sent a petition 



WANDERINGS OF THE PILGRIMS 213 

signed by one hundred of Ms followers to the 
burgomaster of the city of Leyden, asking permis- 
sion to settle there. As the Pilgrims were known 
to be good men and honest workers, the petition 
was granted and the Scrooby congregation left 
Amsterdam. 

Between Amsterdam and Leyden there was an 
enormous difference. Leyden was famous for its 
learning and its progressiveness. In the year that 
the Pilgrims went there, public free schools were 
organized (free schools were not organized in 
England for more than a century later). There 
was a wide equality in franchise. Toleration 
prevailed both in political and rehgious matters. 
There was freedom of speech and freedom of let- 
ters. Idleness was regarded as shameful, the rich- 
est burgher worked as hard as the poorest laborer. 

Leyden thus presented to the eyes of the Pil- 
grims a condition more advanced than any Eng- 
lish city of that time. In England, all education 
was still in the hands of the Church. Neither 
political or religious toleration prevailed under 
James I. The censorship of all printed matter 
was a prerogative of the Crown. Local appoint- 
ments were by royal favor. The aristocracy of 
England was a landed aristocracy, and lived upon 
its rents and holdings. 

When, later, the Pilgrim Fathers came to settle 
in a new land, they brought with them rather the 
customs of the land in which they had dwelt peace- 
fully for ten years than those of the land from 



214* THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

which they had been exiled. Plymouth was not 
all Dutch, nor yet all English, but a blend of the 
two. 

Yet Leyden was not a perfect abiding place. 
The climate did not suit the English immigrants. 
There was no land to spare for the Scrooby farm- 
ers, who had been compelled to become artisans, 
or even laborers. The guilds of the Dutch mer- 
chants were close corporations, which did not ad- 
mit foreigners on an equal basis. 

The Pilgrims had a greater fault to find with 
Leyden than all these. Their children were be- 
coming Dutch. In their own phrase : * * The chil- 
dren were getting the reins off their necks and 
departing from their parents.'' 

The Dutch Sunday, too, was a trial to them. 
In Holland, the standard of morality was high 
and the people were industrious ; hence they saw 
no harm in innocent amusement. In England un- 
der the Stuarts, the standard of morality was low 
and laziness was widespread; hence the Pilgrim 
Fathers had been brought up to regard any amuse- 
ment as sinful. To use their own words again: 
*Hhe children preferred to play than to behave 
in godly wise." 

Again Eobinson urged a move. The Twelve 
Years' Truce with Spain was coming to an end. 
Leyden, near the sea, might catch the worst of the 
storm. A Catholic reaction in Germany had al- 
ready set aflame that religious hatred which soon 
was to blaze into the dreadful Thirty Years ' War. 



WANDERINGS OF THE PILGRIMS 216 

The Pilgrim Fathers decided to depart from Hol- 
land. 

Robinson opened correspondence with both the 
London and the Plymouth Companies, control- 
ling ''Virginia-^ and ** Northern Virginia'' re- 
spectively. In 1617 the London Company offered 
them a grant on condition that they should take 
the Oath of Allegiance, which included acceptance 
of the Crown as authority in religious matters. 
It was to avoid this very oath that the Pilgrims 
had exiled themselves from their own land. 

Robinson drew up a Declaration of Faith which 
was so cleverly worded as to seem an agreement, 
though it was not. James I, known as *Hhe wis- 
est fool in Christendom,'' saw the weak point at 
once. Through the Privy Council he put this 
pointed question: 

**Who shall make your ministers?" 

To this, even Robinson could not make a suit- 
able answer, for the Pilgrims were Congrega- 
tionalists and denied the authority of bishops. 

Finally, by a very roundabout method, a patent 
was granted to them through John Whincop. The 
royal consent was not given, but James I declared 
that he would not molest the emigrants, if they 
lived at peace with their neighbors. While this 
plan was under discussion, a certain Thomas Wes- 
ton came to Leyden, bringing a grant from the 
London Company to the Merchant Adventurers, 
under the name of John Pierce. The WTiincop 
offer lapsed. 



216 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Weston's part in the affair is hard to untangle. 
Tradition states that he was secretly acting for 
the Plymouth Company (Council of New Eng- 
land) while outwardly working for the London 
Company. The Pilgrims concluded an arrange- 
ment with the Merchant Adventurers, with Weston 
as go-between. 

Briefly, the plan was based on the cost of trans- 
portation to America. It cost ten pounds to send 
each emigrant, and each man who went was rated 
at one share. Each ten pounds subscribed also 
counted as one share. For seven years the colo- 
nists were to be fed and clothed out of the common 
stock and, during that time, the product of all their 
labors should be paid in to that stock. At the end 
of the seven years, the property was to be divided, 
each member, whether colonist or capitalist, re- 
ceiving according to the number of his shares. 

To modem ideas it seems strange to value seven 
years of the life of such a man as William Brad- 
ford as worth ten pounds, and still more unfair 
to make no difference between Governor and un- 
skilled laborer. Yet, in the light of those times, 
it seemed fair enough. The history of Virginia 
was a long record of investments which brought 
nothing in return. As for the Pilgrims, any sys- 
tem which guaranteed transportation and seven 
year's food seemed satisfactory, at first. 

When all was ready, when many of the exiles 
had sold their houses and abandoned their busi- 
nesses, the leaders of the Pilgrims learned that 



WANDERINGS OF THE PILGRIMS 217 

Weston was tricking them, and that the Merchant 
Adventurers had changed the conditions. It was 
too late to retreat. 

In July, 1620, in an unseaworthy ship, the 
Speedwell, the first detachment of the Pilgrims 
sailed from Delft Haven. They went direct to 
London, where some English Separatists were 
awaiting them in the Mayflower ^ a ship which had 
been chartered by the Merchant Adventurers. 

On their arrival in London the Pilgrim colo- 
nists learned of the changes which had been made 
at the last moment. Many refused to go. Wes- 
ton grew angry at this interference in his secret 
plots and refused to have anything further to do 
with the Pilgrims, bidding them ** stand on their 
own legs." 

After they had collected every penny possible, 
the Pilgrims were still lacking a hundred pounds 
of the funds needed to allow the ships to get away. 
They were compelled to sell most of the cargo of 
butter and cheese they had brought from Holland, 
part of which they had intended to use for food, 
and part of which was set aside for the purchase 
of arms and ammunition. Thus meagerly sup- 
plied, they set out from London. 

The Speedwell was unfit for a long voyage. The 
^two ships were compelled to put in at Dartmouth. 
After some repairs were made, they set out again. 
But the Speedwell soon sprang another leak, and, 
after having reached 300 miles out to sea, the 
Pilgrims were forced to put back to Plymouth. 



218 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Accusations were not lacking that the Speedwell's 
accidents were deliberate, but these were never 
proved. It was decided to leave the unseaworthy 
craft behind. 

Exactly 102 persons crowded into the May- 
flower, a craft of some 180 tons. The vessel had 
been bought cheaply and was none too seaworthy. 
Less than a dozen of her passengers belonged to 
the old Scrooby Congregation. Only thirty-five 
have been identified as belonging to the Leyden 
Group. Most of the colonists joined in England, 
among which settlers were Priscilla MuUins and 
John Alden, romantic figures of early New Eng- 
land life. John Carver was in charge. Captain 
Miles Standish, a professional soldier of fortune, 
was military commander. 

It was on September 6, 1620, that the Mayflower 
set out on her historic voyage, much too late in 
the year for such a desperate venture as awaited 
them. Yet that little vessel, with her 102 colo- 
nists, was destined to become the most famous 
ship in American history. Many other vessels 
crossed the Atlantic, both before and after, with 
men as resolute aboard, yet the names of the ships 
are forgotten. The glory of the Mayflower re- 
mains. 



CHAPTER XI 

ON" BUGGED PLYMOUTH SHOEE 

Althougli the sailing of the Mayflower was a de- 
cisive date in the founding of New England, it is 
not to be thought that the Pilgrims were the first 
colonists in those parts, still less the discoverers 
of the region. 

As early as 1602, Gilbert and Gosnold reached 
Maine with 60 colonists, with the intention of mak- 
ing a permanent colony and persuading Elizabetli 
to give them a grant from the land given to Ea- 
leigh, that courtier being out of favor. But the 
Concord found so rich a cargo of sassafras wood 
and furs that the colonists returned with the ship 
to get their share of the gains. 

In 1603, Martin Pring went with two ships to 
**WhitsonBay'' (probably Plymouth Harbor) and 
returned in the autumn with a cargo of sassafras 
wood. In 1605 a most important voyage of ex- 
ploration was made by Captain George Waymouth 
in the Archangel, the St. George River being dis- 
covered and mapped. These voyages were the 
basis on which the Plymouth Company was or- 
ganized, and determined the character of the dou- 
ble Charter of 1606. 

219 



220 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

In the autumn of that year Pring discovered 
the Sagadahoc (Kennebec) River, his reports of 
which were so glowing that the Popham colony 
was sent there the following year. This group 
of settlers formed the first colonization of North 
Virginia. 

Two vessels, the Gift of God and the Mary and 
John were sent on this expedition. The former 
was commanded by Captain George Popham, a 
nephew of Sir John Popham, the leader of the 
Plymouth Company; the latter was commanded 
by Captain Ealeigh Gilbert, son of Sir Humphrey 
Gilbert. They sailed from Plymouth on June 1, 
1607, with over a hundred settlers on board. 

A short distance beyond the Azores, the ships 
were separated in a violent storm. The Mary 
and John was driven north of Nova Scotia, but 
on August 7 she reached a small island of the St. 
George group, which had been agreed upon as a 
rendezvous. The Gift of God arrived at the point 
twelve hours later. This ability of English navi- 
gators to hold a course with such exactitude is of 
great importance in relation to the Mayflower^ s 
voyage, thirteen years later. 

On August 16, 1607, after visiting a tribe of In- 
dians which Waymouth had encountered, and af- 
ter exploring the Pemaquid Eiver, the two ships 
arrived at the Sagadahoc Eiver and a site for the 
colony was chosen. One ship 's crew and half the 
colonists were set at building a fort, the others 
were engaged in trading furs, in gathering mus- 



ON PLYMOUTH SHORE 221 

sel-pearls and in cutting the much-desired sassa- 
fras wood. 

The Ma7y and John returned in October, with 
urgent letters asking for more supplies as soon as 
possible, the Gift of God sailed two months later. 
She bore a letter from George Popham, giving 
some extraordinary misinformation about the 
country. Among other errors he wrote : 

*'So far as relates to commerce, all the natives 
constantly affirm that in these parts there are nut- 
megs, mace and cinnamon, besides pitch, Brazil 
wood, cochineal and ambergris. . . . Besides, they 
positively assure me that there is a certain sea in 
the western or opposite part of this province, 
distant not more than seven days' journey from 
our fort of St. George in Sagadahoc, a sea large 
and wide and deep, of the boundaries of which they 
are wholly ignorant, which cannot be any other 
than the Southern Sea, reaching to the regions of 
China, which unquestionably cannot be far from 
these parts.'' 

It is evident that the route to the Spice Is- 
lands and China was as eager a quest in the days 
of the Plymouth Company as in the days of Co- 
lumbus more than a century before. The refer- 
ence to ** nutmegs, mace and cinnamon" was in the 
highest degree absurd, for these are tropical prod- 
ucts ; Popham had not yet found out what a New 
England winter was like. The Indian reference 
to the sea was undoubtedly *^Big Water," as Lake 
Superior was called. 



222 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

The summer had been warm and the autumn 
bahny, justifying all the praises showered on the 
climate by earlier explorers. None of these had 
stayed through a Maine winter. It never oc- 
curred to the English to imagine that a climate 
which was so much hotter than their own in sum- 
mer could be so much colder in the winter. Their 
houses were poorly constructed and the huge 
open fireplaces consumed an enormous amount of 
fuel while giving out but little heat. 

The winter of 1607 was one of the coldest on 
record. In North Virginia it was appalling. The 
boats were ice-bound, the settlers dare scarcely 
go out-of-doors. Scurvy added its terrors to ex- 
posure. Soon after Christmas, in the vain en- 
deavor to warm the houses, a serious fire oc- 
curred, burning several huts and the store-house. 
Less than half the supply of food was saved. 
Even on short rations, famine was not far away. 

George Popham, president of the Colony, al- 
ready an old man, died soon after the fire. Cap- 
tain Gilbert kept the men at work, got a little com 
in trade with near-by villages of Indians, man- 
aged to maintain contentment in spite of the 
scanty food, and got a cargo of furs and woods 
ready. 

The relief ship was late. It had been twice de- 
layed when on the point of sailing, once by the 
death of Sir John Popham, the leader of the 
Plymouth Colony, a second time by the death of 
Sir John Gilbert, another of the leading partners. 




^ 



.•A. T 



.f 



^^ 




y 



A model of tlic AJayiluu'er which shows clearly the small size of this craft and suggests how 
crowded she must have been with her one hundred and two passengers. 



te 







The Mayflower on a bleak Xovcmh.T d;i\- in 1620 entered Provincetow n IlaitiMi The 

exploration amid snow and ice for a proper site for the settlement then began. 

THE MAYFLOWER 




THE DUNES OF PROVINCETOWN 

When Standish landed from the Mayflower the bleakness of this barren andlow lyinti 
land appalled him and two expeditions into the surrounding country convinced hini 
that no good ground for settlement could there be found. 




\1 MKKRSTEADS ALONG TOWN BROOK 
Tlie first homes of the Pilgrims were built along the south side of Leyden Street and 
the gardens ran down to Town Brook. This view shows the sloping lay of the land. 
In this more pleasant land the Pilgrims found their homestead. 



ON PLYMOUTH SHORE 223 

This was sorry news. Captain Gilbert — now Sir 
Raleigh Gilbert — was compelled to go to England, 
and this left the colonists without any leader. One 
third of their number had died. None of the rest 
wished to stay. They embarked upon the supply 
ships, waiting only long enough to put the furs 
and wood on board, and sailed for England. 

Thus ended the northern colony upon the Saga- 
dahoc. 

Between 1608 and 1614 no effort was made 
toward recolonizing this section. The almost 
simultaneous deaths of the two Pophams and Gil- 
bert robbed the Plymouth Company of its most 
ardent leaders. The returning Popham colonists 
had given out the impression that the coasts of 
North Virginia were so cold in winter as to be 
uninhabitable. 

Yet, during these six years, the Dutch were 
pushing up the Hudson E-iver Valley, and the 
French had proved in Acadia and Canada that 
settlements even further to the north could be 
maintained in winter. It was clear to the Ply- 
mouth Company that unless it took some action, 
all its land would be seized by foreigners. 

In 1614, Captain John Smith and Captain 
Thomas Hunt were sent to fish, trade for furs and 
explore in northern Virginia. Smith, as was his 
nature, gave most of his time to exploration. He 
mapped the coasts thoroughly, and on his map 
the words **New England'' first appear, in place 



224 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

of ^* North Virginia,'* *^Nonimbega** or ** Can- 
ada." 

While his superior was away exploring, Cap- 
tain Hunt took his smaller vessel, and kidnaped 
twenty-four Indians on Cape Cod. Setting sail at 
once, before Smith's return, he carried the Indians 
to Spain, where he sold all but one of them as 
slaves at a handsome profit. The remaining In- 
dian, Tisquantum or Squanto, was to play an im- 
portant part in the life of the Pilgrim Fathers. 

On Smith's return, he was asked to enter the 
service of the Plymouth Company as *^ Admiral of 
New England," his pioneer experience being 
deemed invaluable for the selection of a healthful 
and sheltered site for a new colony. Two ships 
were equipped and he set sail in 1615 with a num- 
ber of laborers and artisans aboard. A site was 
to be chosen, a fort built, and it was left to Smith 's 
judgment whether a garrison should be left or not. 

Adventure, however, had marked Captain John 
Smith for her own. His vessel was attacked and 
captured by the French. For many months 
Smith remained on board the enemy's vessel an 
honored prisoner, but still a prisoner. He was 
finally set free at Eochelle, and, though penniless, 
made his way back to England. 

The other vessel of the expedition, under Cap- 
tain Dormer, made her way successfully to New 
England. But Dormer was a sailor, not a pioneer. 
Considering himself unfitted for the important 
task of deciding on a proper site for a colony, he 



ON PLYMOUTH SHORE 225 

waited until the autumn in the hope of Smith's 
reappearance, and then sailed for England with 
a cargo of furs. 

The following year was marked by the sale of 
Rolfe's Virginia tobacco crop at a high price. 
The Plymouth Company remembered that Way- 
mouth and other explorers of Northern Virginia 
had reported Indian tobacco fields in Maine. Sir 
Fernando Gorges, the new head of the Plymouth 
Company, sought a new charter, but he was at- 
tacked tooth and nail by the Virginia Company, 
which wanted to keep tobacco as a monopoly. 
Gorges sent out trading vessels which were little 
better than pirates and raided the ships and posts 
of Virginia. 

In 1617 the ships secretly sent out by Gorges 
brought back strange news. A terrible pestilence 
had raged up and down the coasts of New Eng- 
land, slaying the Indians by hundreds. In the 
words of one captain ^^the coasts were void of in- 
habitants. ' ' Traders confirmed this news the year 
following. The time seemed ripe for New Eng- 
land colonization. In the spring of 1620 a char- 
ter was secured for the Council of New England, 
the name being taken from John Smith 's map. 

This charter was even more disregardful of the 
rights of others than even the famous charter of 
1606. It bestowed on the Council of New Eng- 
land all the territory from 40° to 48°, or from 
Philadelphia to Newfoundland, and extended from 
sea to sea. It included the Dutch settlements on 



226 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

the Delaware and the Hudson, French Acadia, 
and even that definitely settled French territory 
on the St. Lawrence of which Quebec was the 
key. 

By no conceivable argument could James I have 
justified his grant under **the divine right of 
kings. '^ He did not try to do so. Speaking for 
the King, Sir George Calvert, Secretary of State, 
claimed that all this territory belonged to England 
by right of conquest, the conqueror in the case 
being Sir Samuel Argall, who had demolished the 
French settlements on Mt. Desert and in Acadia 
and who had compelled the Dutch on the Hudson 
to run up an English flag. 

Years of argument followed, years which gave 
to New England the time to develop in a man- 
ner wholly different from that which had been in- 
tended by the royal grant. The Council for New 
England was limited to forty members. It would 
have thriven from the start but for the fact that 
the Virginia Company was its open foe. Capital 
was held back from the investment, since, by a 
change in politics, the grant might be forfeited. 

This handicap led the Council of New Eng- 
land to reimburse itself for the steady drain on 
its resources by selling patents of land. It was 
none too scrupulous in taking money for lands 
which had already been given to some one else, a 
matter all the easier in view of the confusion of 
•New England geography. Its main desire was to 
get settlers on the land, and the Pilgrim Fathers 



ON PLYMOUTH SHORE 227 

bid fair to be good colonists. All this lends color 
to the story that Weston, acting secretly for the 
Council of New England, was behind the follow- 
ing extraordinary series of events which attended 
the sailing of the Mayfloiver. 

By a curious succession of accidents, in which 
the actions of the captain of the Speedtvell play 
a part, the Pilgrim Fathers were delayed in start- 
ing. The year was far advanced when they left 
England and the little Mayflower ran into the se- 
vere autunmal gales. There was much sickness 
on the ship. One of the colonists died, but his 
place on the list of 102 was taken by a baby boy, 
bom on the voyage, and christened ^^Oceanus" 
Hopkins. 

The patent which the Pilgrim Fathers held 
through the Merchant Adventurers gave them land 
in the domain of the London Company, which con- 
trolled Virginia. Yet the Mayflower was navi- 
gated steadily to the north. On November 9, 1620, 
the Pilgrims caught sight of land, and, whether by 
accident or design, found themselves two days 
later amid the dangerous shoals and tide-rips 
between Cape Cod and Nantucket Island. 

How did it happen that they were there ! Why 
did they strike the coast of Massachusetts when 
supposed to be heading for Chesapeake Bay? It 
is difficult to believe that Captain Jones of the 
Mayflower could be so incredibly poor a navigator 
and so execrably bad a sailor as to be 500 miles 
out of his reckoning. Such an excuse is all the 



228 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

more unlikely when it is remembered that, time 
after time, English vessels separated by storm 
had met at some exact rendezvous, only a few 
hours' difference between them. 

There is strong suspicion that Captain Jones 
had made a secret arrangement with Weston, who, 
in turn, was acting privately for the Council of 
New England. The suspicion becomes all the 
stronger when it is noted that the Mayflower, try- 
ing to escape the shoals, sailed north instead of 
south, turned that great hook of land which is 
now known as Cape Cod, and ran into the shel- 
tered stretch of water now known as Province- 
town Hai'bor. There, on November 12, 1620 (No- 
vember 22, New Style) the Pilgrim Fathers 
landed, and there their American history was 
begun. 

One sight of that naked and wind-whipped shore 
of Cape Cod, seen at its worst in a bleak Novem- 
ber wind, convinced the colonists that this was 
no haven of refuge, no mild tobacco-growing re- 
gion such as they had planned to inhabit. They 
turned upon Captain Jones and bade him bring 
them to the port whither they were bound, to the 
land for which they had a grant. 

The captain refused bluntly. He declared that 
the provisions were not sufficient, that his ship 
had been too much battered by the bad weather, 
and refused to take the responsibility of setting 
out to sea with a shipload of passengers, many 
of them women and more of them sick, in the 



ON PLYMOUTH SHORE 229 

dead of winter. Such a reply suggests inevitably 
that Jones knew very well what he was doing, and 
never intended to take the Mayflower to Virginia 
at all. 

It was a desperate situation for the Pilgrims. 
There they were, on a solitary and barren coast, 
hundreds of miles from any other white men, with 
no charter from the King, no patent for the re- 
gion in which they found themselves, burdened 
with debt, pledged in advance to seven years ' labor 
for others, short of food, harassed by a ship-cap- 
tain who refused to take them to their proper 
port, and with a cold sleet falling — direful proph- 
ecy of the coming winter. None of the men had 
pioneer experience, 29 of the 102 colonists were 
women or girls. 

As soon as it became evident that they must 
stay in the region whither they had come, the 
colonists drew up a solemn Compact which formed 
them into a civil body politic. Forty-one settlers 
signed. It was not precisely a constitution, but 
it had the force of one. John Carver was con- 
firmed as Governor. The obligation to the Mer- 
chant Adventurers was repeated. Nowhere did the 
Compact suggest the intention of founding a sepa- 
rate state. Allegiance to the Crown of England 
was asserted and the law of the colony was to be 
English law. It was provided that the Compact 
should be binding only until the King's pleasure 
be known. 

The Mayflower had sighted land November 9, 



230 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

1620 ( Old Style ) . The first landing had been made 
on the shores of Provincetown Harbor, Cape Cod, 
on November 12. Since Captain Jones would not 
take them to Virginia, there was no time to lose 
in finding winter quarters. 

Captain Miles Standish at once brought to- 
gether the little band of soldiers he had drilled 
on board ship and set out to explore Cape Cod 
peninsula. Its bleakness appalled him. On that 
barren and low-lying land there was no shelter 
from the icy blast. He found no river of conse- 
quence, nor any fertile fields. Two expeditions 
brought nothing but discouragement. 

The weeks of this search passed miserably on 
board the Mayflower, The Leyden colonists — the 
original Pilgrim Fathers — held together, the Lon- 
don and Plymouth colonists complained bitterly 
because they had been brought to this northern 
shore instead of to Virginia. Carver, Brewster 
and Standish, however, formed a trio of strong 
men, well able to keep order, and disaffection 
never proceeded any further than grumbling. 

On December 6, Captain Standish set out by 
boat on a third expedition. He had a brush with 
the Nauset Indians the next day, and, on De- 
cember 8, found himself off the high land of Mano- 
met Point. This gave hope of shelter under the 
lee of the headland, for the weather was terribly 
cold, the spray freezing on oars and sails. The 
wind was rising and the sea growing rough. 

Standish pressed on, despite the warnings of 



ON PLYMOUTH SHORE 231 

tlie sailors, for he was steering for Plymouth Har- 
bor, as marked on Captain John Smith's map, and 
was sure that the haven could not be far away. 
Off Rocky Point, a heavy squall struck the boat, 
dismasting her. The men took to their oars, and, 
a strong tide aiding them, they were swept into 
Plymouth Harbor and anchored in the lee of 
Clark's Island. Next day they repaired the dam- 
ages to their boat, and the day following, being 
Sunday, they rested. 

Early on Monday (December 11, 1620, Old 
Style ; December 21, New Style) they made for the 
shore. Sounding as they went, they found good 
harborage for the small vessels of that time. Run- 
ning down a little distance into the harbor, they 
prepared to land. 

This date (usually misplaced at December 22) 
was the first landing of the Pilgrims in Plymouth 
Harbor. The place was not at Plymouth Rock, 
but more to the north. The Mayflower was not in 
the ofifing, but, at that time, anchored in Province- 
town Bay. The landing was confined to Captain 
Miles Standish and the few members of his search 
party. 

As might have been expected, the judgment of 
Captain John Smith, the great Virginia pioneer, 
proved sound. Plymouth Harbor was, as Stand- 
ish affirmed, ^*an excellent situation" for a colony. 
The Pilgrims found cornfields which had been 
abandoned by the Indians since the great epidemic, 
and a good stream of fresh water ran near by. 



232 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Standish returned to the sMp with the good 
news. On December 16 (Old Style), the May- 
flower sailed across the bay and dropped her an- 
chor in Plymouth Harbor. On December 19 the 
site for the fort was chosen (where the town of 
Plymouth now stands) and on December 25, the 
first building was begun. The settlement was 
christened New Plymouth, after the last town the 
Pilgrims had touched in England and also from 
the name on Smith's map. 

January was wet and stormy. Building prog- 
ress was slow. Indians were seen lurking in the 
woods. A high platform was built on which some 
cannon were mounted, for Standish had found the 
Nauset natives unfriendly. There was cause for 
this, since the Indians kidnaped by Captain Hunt, 
six years before, belonged to this tribe. 

Sickness soon set in. Scurvy — that invariable 
plague of communities living on dried or preserved 
foods — ^broke out at once. Exposure claimed so 
many victims that, at one time, Brewster, Standish 
and four other of the sturdiest men alone were 
able to keep on their feet and to bury the dead. 
The Mayflower was turned into a hospital. By 
spring, 53 of the 102 colonists had died. The 
women suffered severely. Of the 18 wives who had 
landed near Plymouth Eock at Christmas, only 
4 were aUve in March. 

Then came a glint of hope ! 

An Indian came boldly into the camp, and to 



ON PLYMOUTH SHORE 233 

the amazement of the Pilgrims, uttered the Eng- 
lish word — 

^^Welcome!'' 

He gave his name as Samoset, and stated that 
he came from the island of Monhegan off the 
coast of Maine. He had picked up a few Eng- 
lish words from the traders and fishermen. More- 
over, he had learned from the secret agents of Sir 
Fernando Gorges that wherever white men were, 
there was an opportunity to trade furs. More 
striking still, he declared that he could bring to 
the camp another Indian, who spoke English 
fluently. 

A few days later, he reappeared with a com- 
rade. This proved to be Squanto, who had been 
kidnaped by Hunt, and who, alone, had not been 
sold into slavery, but had been taken to Eng- 
land. In 1620 he had been restored to his own 
country in one of Gorges' ships. 

Squanto proved friendly and undertook to ar- 
range an alliance. He was as good as his word. 
After an exchange of gifts. Chief Massasoit of 
the Wampanoag tribe came to the camp with a 
number of his braves. He agreed to trade exclu- 
sively at Plymouth on condition that the Pilgrims 
agree to help him against his tribal enemies. 
Squanto also arranged an alliance with the Po- 
kanoket Indians, to the south. These treaties, 
which insured a fur trade monopoly, were one of 
the principal causes of the prosperity of the Plym- 
outh Colony. 



234 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

In spite of the aid of Squanto, who showed them 
how to till roughly prepared land, who purchased 
seed-corn for them, who tried to teach the white 
men how to trap and fish, hunger dogged them 
steadily. Yet the seas off their coasts were the 
greatest fishing grounds in the world, the shores 
were covered with shell-fish, the rivers alive with 
eels. Owing to the Indian depopulation, the woods 
were full of game. But the Pilgrims were farm- 
ers or artisans. Not one of them had ever shot 
an animal or caught a fish in the sea. They 
starved in the midst of plenty. But for Squanto, 
few would have lived to harvest the crop. 

To make matters worse, the colony had started 
on a communistic basis. This brought disaster 
in New England as quickly is it had in Virginia. 
The younger men saw the products of their labor 
benefiting other men's families, the industrious 
bore the burdens of the lazy, the able men ranked 
no better than the mean and ignorant, and the 
women resented being turned into slaves for the 
community, washing and cooking not only for 
their own husbands but for all the men of the 
place. 

As in all communistic states, where personal 
incentive is low, the output of work was small. 
The Pilgrims were picked men, they were used 
to toil, they were united by their faith, they were 
well led and governed, they had the supreme good 
fortune of finding land already cleared for plant- 
ing, they had Squanto to teach them frontier ways, 



ON PLYMOUTH SHORE 235 

yet they could not grow food enough to feed them- 
selves. When, two years later, communism was 
abandoned, the food situation changed as if by 
magic. On the very first summer after its aboli- 
tion, the colony not only had grain enough to eat, 
but plenty to store and to sell. 

Governor Carver died during the summer, be- 
ing succeeded by William Bradford. In the au- 
tumn a ship arrived bringing 35 new settlers, but 
little food. The ship was loaded with beaver- 
skins and hurried away, with an urgent request 
to the Merchant Adventurers for supplies. The 
vessel, however, was captured by a French cruiser, 
its cargo confiscated and its return delayed. 

An incident occurred in the winter which well 
illustrates the Pilgrim spirit. On Christmas 
morning, 1621, Governor Bradford summoned the 
workers as usual, and prepared to begin the day's 
labor. Some of the new arrivals refused on the 
ground that Christmas was a holy day. This was 
in flat opposition to the religious principles of the 
colony, which regarded all church festivals — ex- 
cept Sunday — as * ^popish.'' 

Bradford, as a stickler for the rights of con- 
science, did not force the men to work. On his 
return at noon, however, he found them playing 
at bowls. The Governor promptly took the balls 
away, saying sternly that his conscience would 
not permit him to allow those who deemed Christ- 
mas a holy day to desecrate it by games. Most 
of the men went to work that afternoon. 



236 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

The incident is of importance as illustrating 
the difference between the Pilgrim spirit and the 
Puritan spirit, as the latter developed a few years 
later. Bradford censured the bowl-players be- 
cause they were not true to their own principles, 
the Puritans dealt harshly with people who dis- 
agreed with the principles of Puritanism. The 
Pilgrims admitted the right of religious liberty, 
the Puritans denied it. 

A second incident shows the Pilgrim manner 
of dealing with Indians. They paid the lowest 
possible prices for furs, but they always paid and 
they dealt fairly. "When Massasoit fell ill, one 
of the Pilgrims went to his hut and nursed him 
back to health. The treaties of alliance were 
honestly kept. Yet, when the chief of the Nar- 
ragansett Indians sent to Plymouth a bundle of 
arrows tied together with a snake-skin as a declar- 
ation of war, Bradford showed no fear. He filled 
the skin with powder and bullets and sent it back 
with a sharp message of defiance. The Narra- 
gansetts regarded the returned skin with super- 
stitious fear, and, deeming it **bad medicine," 
let the white men alone. 

Though the Pilgrims were on half rations all 
that winter, they were beginning to learn how 
take care of themselves. Substantial houses had 
been built. Piles of firewood had been cut for 
fuel. The crisp weather of New England stimu- 
lated energy, and the Indians had taught them 
how to cure scurvy. When the spring of 1622 ar- 



ON PLYMOUTH SHORE 237 

rived, a sturdy lot of New Englanders were ready 
to push onward vigorously. 

In May, 1622, Thomas Weston, the double- 
dealer, came again on the scene. Presumably as a 
reward for his trickery in regard to the Pilgrims, 
the Council of New England had granted him a 
patent for some land north of the Plymouth Colony 
and including the southern portion of what now is 
Boston Harbor. He brought 67 colonists *^and 
not a bite of bread.'' 

Weston's colonists were not Pilgrims. Far 
from it. Bradford called them *^ loose and godless 
fellows." The description was not far wrong. 
They lived on the charity of the Pilgrims all sum- 
mer, stole a large part of the green com in the 
early autumn and then moved north to their own 
holding, settling at Wessagusset (Weymouth), on 
Boston Harbor. 

Their conduct in their new home was not edify- 
ing. They begged from the Indians, they stole 
from the Indians, they maltreated the Indians, 
and, since there was not a woman among them, 
*Hhey took unto themselves wives of the heathen." 
The neighboring tribes decided to massacre all 
the whites at Wessagusset. They would have 
done so, without question, had they not also con- 
ceived the idea of arousing the Pokanokets and 
the Wampanoags to massacre the Pilgrims simul- 
taneously, and thus sweep every white man from 
the shore. 

The honesty of the Pilgrims now reaped its re- 



238 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

ward. The friendly tribes refused, and warned 
their allies at Plymouth. Although the Weston 
colonists had robbed the Pilgrims and misbe- 
haved atrociously, still they were Englishmen. In 
March, 1623, Standish and a party of soldiers were 
sent to Wessagusset. He found the settlement in 
a deplorable state. The so-called *^forf was a 
mere huddle of timbers. The colonists were scat- 
tered in every direction, half of them living with 
the Indians. 

Standish wasted little time. The men were 
brought back to "Wessagusset — ^by the scruffs of 
their necks, if they would come no other way — 
and the settlement was organized for defense. 
Then he whirled upon the Indians with such speed 
and power that the tribes were terrorized. He 
avoided bloodshed as much as possible, prefer- 
ring to frighten than to kiU. At the cost of not 
more than a score of Indians slain, he convinced 
the tribes that it was perilous to meddle with the 
War Chief of the Whites. 

Weston's men were brought back to Plymouth 
and thence sent home. Weston arrived a few 
weeks later and fell into the hands of the In- 
dians. The tribes were too much afraid of Stand- 
ish to dare to keep their prisoner. He was re- 
leased and taken to Plymouth, whence the Pil- 
grims shipped him to England by the first boat. 

That spring of 1623, fearing the results of an- 
other summer of communism, Bradford threw 
the Merchant Adventurers' agreement to the 




THE PILGRIM 



endeavor .aid such a„ enr.r„l'l^';^dVeLr;ir;i?enr?KS'?l;;fl-;^^reK 



The „.^^kt of: Cearjcs foH CffclJ ^ 







i Fort, on the Kennebec Rl 



ST. GEORGE S FORT ON THE KENNEBEC RIVER 

This map was sent to King Philip III of Spain by his Ambassador in London in 1609 
to further the military purpose of the Spaniards to drive the English from the American 
continent. 



ON PLYMOUTH SHORE 239 

winds. He assigned to every family a grant of 
land. This changed everything. Each man knew 
that if he hungered during the following winter, 
it would be his own fault. The settlers worked 
willingly, even the women and children helping. 
Some of the more industrious worked for pay on 
the land of others, after their own work was done. 
Property rights had been established. The har- 
vest was so good that, as Bradford was able to 
write many years after: **Any general want or 
famine hath not been known amongst them since, 
to this very day.'* 

In July, 1623, before this harvest was ripe, two 
vessels came, bringing sixty more settlers to the 
colony and but little food. Many of these were 
the wives and children of the settlers, twenty of 
them had come from Leyden. 

For the newcomers it was but a sorry meeting. 
Most of the Plymouth settlers were half naked. 
The storehouses were empty, so that ^' there was 
nought to offer these faithful ones but a lobster 
or a piece of fish without bread, and a cup of fair 
spring water to wash it down.'' This poverty 
ceased when the new crop was harvested, six weeks 
later. 

The Council for New England was still hand- 
ing out patents recklessly. In June, 1623, a new 
division was made under Twenty Patentees, the 
territory bestowed running from the Bay of Fundy 
to Narragansett Bay. 

Eobert Gorges and Eev. Thomas Morell — an 



240 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Anglican clergyman who had been appointed ** Re- 
ligious Superintendent of New England'' — ar- 
rived with a party of settlers and occupied 
Weston's abandoned huts at Wessagusset. Wes- 
ton arrived on the scene a month later and the 
two leaders quarreled all winter. MorelPs pres- 
sure forebode trouble. 

The Council was entirely within its power in 
putting the Pilgrim Fathers under the jurisdiction 
of the Church of England, the very thing for 
which they had fled from Scrooby, sixteen years 
before. 

Moreover, a great deal of trouble had been made 
in England over the *^ heretical conditions" at 
Plymouth. The Virginia Company, always hos- 
tile to New England, had done much to fan this 
flame of criticism. In answer to this, the men sent 
out by the Council of New England were as far re- 
moved from Separatism as possible, and Thomas 
Morton — ^whose amazing story is to be told later 
— was sent in 1622 to establish a thoroughly royal- 
ist and Church settlement on Boston Harbor. 
There were thus three Church settlements in 1623, 
those of Weston, Morton and Gorges. There was 
also a group of Church of England men in Plym- 
outh. Eeligious strife might easily have been be- 
gun but that Morell never had the time to exer- 
cise his authority. 

In March, 1624, a Parliamentary committee, un- 
der the urging of the Virginia Company, declared 
the charter of the Council of New England to be 



ON PLYMOUTH SHORE 241 

**a national grievance.'' No further action was 
taken, but the decision frightened many of the 
Thirty Patentees, who withdrew. Gorges re- 
turned to England. Morell went to Virginia. 
Only a handful of men were left at Wessagus- 
set, some belonging to Weston's colony, others to 
that of Gorges. Morton and his few followers re- 
mained. 

In January of that same year, Edward Win- 
slow, one of the Pilgrim leaders, who had been 
buying cattle for the colony in England, returned 
to Plymouth. He brought good news. He had 
persuaded Lord Sheffield, one of the Thirty Pat- 
entees, to convey the region around Cape Ann to 
him, on behalf of the Plymouth colonists. 

The same vessel brought a malcontent into the 
colony, who was destined to bring trouble. This 
was Rev. John Lyford, a clergyman of dubious 
reputation. On arriving at Plymouth he denied 
his Church, embraced Separatism, and, for a 
while, was minister of the Plymouth Church. 
This did not last long. He was found to be 
secretly holding Church of England services, and 
also sending reports of *^ heresy" to the Council 
in England. Later, Bradford banished him from 
Plymouth. 

When spring came, the Pilgrims proceeded to 
make use of their new grant at Cape Ann, which 
was primarily a fishing base. But, when a party 
from Plymouth arrived there, they found 34 set- 
tlers established already. These belonged to an 



242 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

entirely independent venture, having been sent 
thither in 1623 by some Dorchester merchants 
who had maintained a fishing fleet in American 
waters for several years. 

During the summer of 1624, the Plymouth men 
and the Dorchester men agreed well enough to- 
gether. Each party built a fishing stage, and 
there was fish enough for all. Trouble began in 
1625 when the Dorchester men, learning of Ly- 
ford's banishment, invited him to become their 
minister. They did more. They appointed one 
of his associates, Roger Conant, to become man- 
ager of the settlement, and another, John Oldham, 
to be their Indian agent. 

The Plymouth men deemed this an unfriendly 
act and the quarrel rose to the point of blows. 
The Dorchester men seized the Pilgrims' landing 
stage. Standish was sent to punish the offenders, 
who, though they were the prior occupants, had 
no patent. Conant intervened, reminded the men 
of Plymouth that they had no grant for their 
territory, and arbitrated the matter. 

The year following, a renewal of the war with 
Spain stopped the overseas fishing industry. The 
Dorchester men returned to England, and the 
Plymouth colony sent no more fishing parties; 
Lyford went to Virginia. Only Conant and three 
companions remained at Cape Ann. 

The next settlement in New England was also 
of royalist and Church character. In 1625, Cap- 
tain WoUaston arrived with a ship-load of set- 



ON PLYMOUTH SHORE 243 

tiers to take up that part of Boston Harbor lying 
between Weston's grant and Gorges' grant. Wol- 
laston's ideas differed from those of his predeces- 
sors. He brought a number of indentured ^^ serv- 
ants,'' intending to establish a tobacco plantation 
along the lines of those in Virginia. He soon saw 
that the climate was unfavorable for such a 
plan, and sailed to Virginia with his * ^ servants, ' ' 
intending either to settle or to sell them there. 
He left a few men behind to hold Mt. Wollaston. 

The Plymouth Colony was now becoming strong 
enough to stand on its own feet. The fur trade 
had prospered. The small farms were well 
stocked. The town of Plymouth had taken on 
the character of permanence. 

There was but one source of trouble; this was 
the relation between the Pilgrims and the Mer- 
chant Adventurers. The seven years of the origi- 
nal contract had come to an end and the Mer- 
chant Adventurers truly asserted that the Pljon- 
outh Colony had not lived up to its agreement. 
It was thousands of pounds in debt. 

Accordingly, eight of the leaders of the Pil- 
grims — Bradford, Brewster, Standish, AUerton, 
Winslow, Howland, Alden and Prince — undertook 
to pay the Merchant Adventurers the sum of 
£1800, which figure was reached by a compromise. 
The money was to be paid in nine annual install- 
ments of £200 apiece. On this condition they were 
freed from all obligations arising from the old 
contract. Thus, in 1627, the Pilgrims became their 



244 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

own masters, save that they possessd neither pat- 
ent nor charter. 

The years 1629 and 1630 were marked by the 
arrival of a number of Pilgrims from Leyden. 
They were greeted with great rejoicing, for, in 
spite of every effort, Plymouth was becoming 
populated with settlers who were not Separatists. 
It is greatly to the credit of Bradford and his asso- 
ciates that there was no active persecution of 
these. Eobinson, the great Pilgrim leader, who 
had been their head in Holland, never saw 
America. He died in 1626, content to know that 
his followers were solidly established in the New 
World. 

On January 13, 1630, the dearest dream of the 
Pilgrim Fathers was realized. On that date, the 
Council for New England granted a patent to 
Bradford and his associates, the territory extend- 
ing from the Cohasset to the Narragansett Rivers 
and westwards **to the utmost bounds of a coun- 
try or place in New England, commonly called 
Pokenacutt or Sowamsett.'' In 1641, William 
Bradford deeded this grant to the Corporation 
of New Plymouth. 

It is not always realized how small was the 
Plymouth Colony prior to the Puritan migration. 
In 1620 there were 102 settlers ; in 1625, 180 set- 
tlers; in 1630, only 300. Owing to the smallness 
of the numbers and to the wisdom of constantly 
reelecting Bradford as governor, Plymouth be- 
came wealthy. 



ON PLYMOUTH SHORE 245 

The system of government was partly Dutch 
and partly English. There was a primary 
assembly of ^'freemen^' which passed all the laws 
and elected the officers of the colony. A **free- 
man'' had to be named by the assembly, as such, 
and was always a member of the Separatist con- 
gregation. The suffrage was highly restricted. 
A * ^freeman'' was always a man of wealth, in 
other words, a burgher. The burgher class ruled 
and.chose its own governor. The other people had 
no voice in the affairs of the colony. Plymouth 
was not a democracy and was not designed to be. 

At no point does the Pilgrim town stand out 
so differently from the Puritan town as in its re- 
lation of Church and State. The Pilgrims were 
notably weak in religious leaders, though all their 
leaders were religious. The place of pastor was 
kept open for Robinson for seven years. After 
his death, a half-witted minister named Rogers 
came, but he was sent back the year following. 
He was succeeded by Ralph Smith, a man of small 
importance, whom the Pilgrims endured for eight 
years. 

Nor did the Pilgrims shine in education. Ply- 
mouth had no schools. Had Robinson come, he 
would have established them, but Bradford was 
mainly interested in keeping the colony alive, and 
Brewster feared that secular teaching savored 
too much of worldliness. There was, however, a 
wholesome and sound home teaching. 

When everything is considered, little but praise 



246 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

of the Pilgrim Fathers can be said. The light 
of their righteous living, of their fairness, of 
their industry, of their honesty, of their rugged 
strength, and of their successful endeavor to es- 
tablish a self-governing religious community in a 
savage country, shines as a beacon at the opening 
of New England history. 

No American with a feeling for his country can 
fail to remember with pride and tenderness the 
worthy deeds and noble lives of Pilgrim men and 
Pilgrim women during those hard years upon the 
Plymouth shore. 



CHAPTER XII 

THE PURITAN FLOOD 

While Pilgrims and Puritans alike fled from 
England because of their dislike of royalism and 
their hate for the Church of England, the two 
great groups of ultra-Protestants had nothing 
else in common. As the Puritan exodus was from 
England, was composed of Englishmen, and had 
for its aim the establishment of English liberties 
in the New World, it is all-important to know 
what had happened in England to force this Puri- 
tan migration. 

James I had died in 1625, and Charles I had 
come to the throne. Even as Prince of Wales, he 
had begun badly. His attempted marriage to a 
Spanish princess had alienated the patriots and 
angered the ultra-Protestants. His behavior in 
Madrid — such as scahng the wall of the Prin- 
cess' garden — had made him look ridiculous. That 
he was jilted at the last only exposed him to 
greater scorn. 

England was in financial difficulties. James I 
had left £700,000 of debts. Parliament was com- 
pelled to reduce the royal revenues, which be- 
came a cause of strife between king and people. 

247 



248 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

England, also, was divided into two great re- 
ligious parties, Church of England on the one 
hand, Nonconformity or Puritanism on the other. 
Church and King stood together, Parliament and 
Puritanism were linked. The royalists regarded 
the Puritans as traitors to the English Crown; 
the Puritans accused the royalists as traitors to 
the English people. 

The King adopted methods of raising money 
which Parliament denounced as unconstitutional, 
and many obdurate members of Parliament were 
thrown into prison. The Puritans adopted meth- 
ods of undermining the Church of England, which 
the Crown denounced as treasonable, and threw 
the leaders into prison. 

The Puritans attacked the Church on the 
grounds of intolerance; the Church replied with 
the same accusation. In point of fact, neither was 
tolerant. Both believed in a compulsory state re- 
ligion, a point of vital importance in the history 
of American Puritanism. Both believed that 
whipping, mutilation, imprisonment and even 
death should be the punishment of those who 
dared to disagree with their opinions. 

King and Commons faced each other with mu- 
tual distrust and dislike. The terrible scenes that 
were enacted in the Parliaments of 1628 and 1629 
blasted all hopes of civil peace and caused the 
Puritan migration to America. Charles I finally 
sent the leading Puritans to the Tower of London, 



THE PURITAN FLOOD 249 

and, for eleven years thereafter, no Parliament 
sat again in England. 

The Puritans turned their eyes to America. 
They had, indeed, a small colony there — a very 
small colony, for it consisted of only four men. 

When the Pilgrim Fathers received a grant for 
Cape Ann and sent a fishing party there, they 
had found some settlers from Dorchester in pos- 
session. These were Puritans. When, after 
trouble with the Pljnnouth Colony and after the 
reopening of the War with Spain, the Dorches- 
ter men returned, they left Roger Conant and 
three men behind. As the exposed situation of 
Cape Ann was ill-suited for a permanent settle- 
ment, Conant had moved to Naumkeag (Salem) 
and made a tiny colony there. In this Salem 
colony of four men begins the Puritan history of 
New England. 

Rev. John White of Dorchester, a merchant of 
means, a clergyman of the Church and a moderate 
Puritan, (such mixtures were not uncommon at 
the time), was one of the backers of the Dorches- 
ter fishermen. It was by his advice that the Cape 
Ann settlement had been begun. When it was 
abandoned in 1627, he sent word through Plym- 
outh to Conant and his followers, urging them 
to hold the land they had settled, promising them 
supplies and assuring them that he would se- 
cure a grant in their names. 

With Puritan straightforwardness. White un- 
dertook to arouse Puritan interest in the venture. 



250 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

* 
He went to the root of colonization. He declared 

that it was the character of the settlers which de- 
termined success, not the amount of money spent 
nor the richness of the site. So stirring were his 
words and pamphlets that the Puritans mustered 
to his cause. 

Although there was no actual mention of Puri- 
tanism in the appeal for a charter made to the 
Council for New England, it must have been un- 
derstood. Perhaps the most significant fact is 
that among the six grantees named in the charter 
of March 19, 1628, was the name of '' Master En- 
dicott, a man well known to divers persons of good 
note^' and who was a Puritan of the most extreme 
type. 

The Council had not foregone its old habit of 
granting lands which it had previously bestowed 
on others. The patent of 1628 conveyed to Endi- 
cott and his associates all the territoiy from three 
miles north of the Merrimac Eiver to three miles 
south of the Charles River, thus comprising the 
northern half of the coastline of Massachusetts 
and expending to the Pacific Ocean, believed to be 
but seven days' march away. This infringed on 
the prior grants given to Mason, to Morton, to 
Gorges, to the Thirty Patentees, to the Pilgrims at 
Cape Ann, to Wollaston and to Conant. Here was 
a heritage of quarrels for Endicott and his 
friends ! 

John White supplied and equipped a ship, 
which sailed on June 20, 1628, with a score or 



THE PURITAN FLOOD 251 

more settlers, under Endicott, as an advance 
party. Endicott arrived at Naumkeag, on Sep- 
tember 6, 1628, and fomid Conant in possession. 

As Conant had the rights of prior occupancy, 
and as he held letters from White stating that 
an effort was being made to secure a patent in his 
name, he prepared to dispute Endicott 's author- 
ity. It was in vain. Endicott had the charter 
and had been sent to take command. Conant 
yielded gracefully. Naumkeag was rechristened 
** Salem,'' the Hebrew word for ** peaceful." 

The new governor soon gave a taste of his 
opinions and his methods. Ajnong the earlier 
grants had been one to Morton, a strong upholder 
of Church and State, who had come into conflict 
with the Pilgrims several times. His presence 
was an annoyance to the stern Puritan. Endicott 
undertook to bring him into subjection. 

Thomas Morton's story is one of the strangest 
in the early history of New England. He was 
a lawyer of London, and was sent out by Gorges, 
in 1622, with 30 settlers and a personal grant to a 
small piece of land on Boston Harbor. 

Morton was a strong Church of England man, 
who had written pamphlets of the most fiery loy- 
alty, and there is no doubt that the Council had 
given him a patent in order to silence the criti- 
cism that they favored the heretical Separatists. 
He returned to England for the winter and came 
out again in 1623, with more settlers, all of the 
^* roaring Tory" type. They were regarded as 



252 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

*^ henchmen of Satan" by their Pilgrim neighbors. 
Morton soon got himself the nick-name of 
*' Merry '^ Morton. 

The Wessagusset Colony, first established by 
Weston and later occupied by Gorges, was not 
far from Morton 's trading post. Indeed, there is 
question whether the Wessagusset grant was not 
an infringement on Morton's patent, for, in those 
days of uncertain land titles, it was hard to say 
where one territory ended and another began. 

In any case, when Gorges abandoned his set- 
tlement, in 1625, Morton took charge of it. It is 
scarcely fair to say, as Bradford did, that Morton 
^^ stole" the land. On the contrary, with both 
Weston and Gorges gone, Morton was the only 
man on Boston Harbor who held a patent direct 
from the Council of New England. 

Morton was a jovial Englishman, as fond of 
his pipe and his grog as he was loyal to King and 
Church. No sour-visaged religionist was he, but, 
rather, a rollicking fellow, a genial host and a 
lover of fun. There was a good deal of the Eliza- 
bethan country squire about him. He was a much 
more characteristic Englishman than the sober 
and decorous Pilgrims, for whom Morton had ever 
a mocking word. 

When Wollaston came and established a tobacco 
plantation on Mt. Wollaston, he made friends with 
Morton. But WoUaston wanted an easy life in 
a genial climate, and New England prospects did 



THE PURITAN FLOOD 253 

not please him. He left for Virginia, leaving some 
indentured ^^ servants'^ in charge. 

Wollaston was wealthy and had built himself 
a good house. Finding that he was not coming 
back, Morton took over the little colony, also. Hav- 
ing a keen perception of the needs of pioneer Hfe, 
he called the servants before him, tore up their 
indentures and gave them their freedom, opening 
a cask of rum to celebrate the happy day. Having 
thus made them his loyal and devoted tenants, he 
rechristened Mt. Wollaston (now Quincy) with the 
name of ^* Merry Mount.'' He promptly estab- 
lished the Church of England service, which 
plagued the Pilgrims sorely. 

Came May-Day, 1626. Morton, the jovial, un- 
dertook to celebrate it fittingly, according to his 
own ideas. He planted a Maypole, eighty feet 
high, opened several casks of beer and brandy, 
and sent invitations broadcast to Indians and 
whites to taste freely of his hospitality. 

According to the Pilgrim account, the settlers 
* ^frisked and frolicked'' with the Indian girls 
around the Maypole. Such a statement was prob- 
ably false, as any student of Indian customs knows. 
The braves may have come, the Indian girls 
would not. That there was merry-making and 
carousing was not to be denied, that there was 
** ungodly dancing upon the Mount of Dagon" is 
sure, and the Pilgrims regarded the doings at 
** Merry Mount" as an open scandal. 

By the end of the summer, Morton vAs receiv- 



254 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

ing the good results of his hospitality. The In- 
dians came to him freely, sure of a glass of ^' fire- 
water '^ with every trade. What was more, he 
was willing to pay more for furs than the Pil- 
grims were ready to do, for those shrewd bar- 
gainers had beaten down the price to the lowest 
notch. In consequence, Morton was able to get 
the pick of the furs and still to make an enormous 
profit. This competition not only turned the Pil- 
grims more bitterly against him, but also brought 
him enmity from the straggling settlements which 
were springing up on all sides. 

A new accusation was brought against Morton 
in the summer of 1627. He was accused of re- 
ceiving runaway servants and '^blasphemers'^ 
who had been banished from Plymouth. 

This was perfectly true. Morton, however, was 
within his rights. More than that, he was the 
only person who had rights, for the Pilgrims pos- 
sessed no charter and were living at Plymouth on 
sufferance, while Morton had a charter and was a 
loyal member of the Church of England. Brad- 
ford warned him that, unless he walked more care- 
fully, he would be dealt with harshly; Mine Host 
of Merry Mount retorted that two could play at 
that game and threatened to *'pull their canting 
meeting-house about their ears." 

Morton saw clearly that a strong alliance was 
forming against him. The retirement of the 
Thirty Patentees warned him that the Council 
of New England could give him little help. He 







j-E = ^a.»is_^ '^ 






CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH'S MAP OF NEW ENGLAND, 1614 

Captain John Smith made two voyages of discovery along the New England coast . 
Though not its first discoverer he explored it fully and wrote a book called "Descrip- 
tion of New England." Up to this time New England was known as "North Virginia" 
and this map published in his book is the first printed record of the name of "New 
England" and of many of the names of capes and rivers as we now know them. 



THE PURITAN FLOOD 255 

would fight his own battles ! He imported a large 
cargo of guns and ammunition from England and 
began to trade them for furs, probably with the 
intention of having a force of well-armed allies 
at his back, if the Pilgrims should proceed to 
extremities. 

In this action, Morton was clearly in the wrong, 
and Bradford was not the man to overlook an 
opportunity. Although Merry Mount was far 
outside of any jurisdiction that the Pilgrims might 
claim, they regarded the arming of the Indians 
as a serious menace to all the white settlers, no 
matter where their grants might lie. They sent 
a sharp message to Morton, reminding him of 
the King's proclamation against selling arms to 
Indians. The jovial and belligerent lawyer 
answered that a Proclamation was not a law, and 
warned the Pilgrims to take good heed to them- 
selves if they came to molest him. 

The Pilgrims were perfectly ready to take care 
of themselves. In June, 1628, they gathered their 
forces together, and, summoning aid from the 
other settlements, so that the action should not 
appear a personal matter, they placed the force 
under the command of Captain Miles Standish. 
The settlements joining in this act of hostility 
were Piscataqua (Portsmouth), Nantasket (Hull), 
Naumkeag (Salem), Winnimisset (Chelsea), 
Cocheco on the Piscataqua River, Thompson's 
Island and Shawmut (Boston). This list seems 



256 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

formidable, but many of these places had only two 
or three settlers. 

Before actual hostilities commenced, there was 
a parley, in which the witty lawyer got much the 
better of the doughty captain. Always readier 
with acts than with words, Captain Miles Stan- 
dish suddenly grabbed the ^^Lord of Misrule^* by 
the coat-collar, and, despite his struggles, dragged 
him to the water side, grimly warning Morton's 
followers that any attempt at rescue would be met 
with a volley. 

** Merry'' Morton, somewhat ruffled by the cap- 
tain's rough handling, but not a bit crestfallen, 
was taken to Plymouth. There he was lectured by 
Bradford and Brewster with long speeches and 
much gravity of demeanor, to which he replied 
with bitter humor and contemptuous ridicule. He 
was banished and sent to England under the 
charge of John Oldham, who had made his peace 
with the Pilgrims, and who bore letters from 
Bradford to the Council of New England recount- 
ing Morton's misdemeanors in great detail. 

On his arrival, Morton posed as a victim of 
religious persecution for his loyalty to the Church 
of England, which was only partly true. Oldham, 
who was still smarting from his early disagree- 
ments with the Pilgrims, supported Morton's 
story. 

The Council pardoned the jolly lawyer, possibly 
because of his success in the fur trade, and, the 
year following, Morton was back at ** Merry 



THE PURITAN FLOOD 257 

Mount/' with another cargo of beer and brandy, 
the same desire to play the part of a jovial host, 
and a deepened disregard for the feelings of a 
religious community. 

On his return, he found that a much more intol- 
erant group of religionists had visited his place. 
The Puritans had been there, in his absence. En- 
dicott had taken upon himself to interfere. He 
had marched to ** Merry Mount,'' hewed down 
the Maypole, and ^* admonished Morton's men to 
look there should be better walking." 

This incident was significant. The Pilgrims, 
however annoyed with Morton's worldly ways, had 
not actually interfered with him, until he com- 
menced selling fire-arms to the Indians ; Endicott, 
without any provocation, destroyed an absent 
man's property because the mere presence of a 
May-pole on an estate with which he had no con- 
cern offended his religious sensibilities. 

Not long after Morton's return, Endicott paid 
another visit to ** Merry Mount." He came to 
repeat his warning, but the jovial lawyer, thor- 
oughly enraged at the Puritan intrusion during 
his absence, swore vengeance on the Puritans and 
vowed that the laws of England would protect 
him. 

Endicott coldly retaliated by producing a paper 
which he demanded that Morton should sign. It 
was an oath of allegiance to the Puritan colony, 
but in it Endicott had omitted the words of the 
charter **so that nothing be done contrary or 



258 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

repugnant to tlie laws of the Kingdom of Eng- 
land.'' This came near to treason and Morton 
said so. 

The Puritan leader did not argue the point. 
He arrested Morton, broke open the house, appro- 
priated all his com and other provisions, seized 
the furs and articles of trade, and sent Morton 
back to England. 

His fanaticism cost him his place. The Council 
realized that a continuance of such policy might 
result in the cancellation of its charter. Morton 
was released and allowed to return, the same ship 
carrying Endicott's deposition and disgrace. 

But ** Merry'' Morton was merry no longer. 
The Puritan flood had commenced. The Boston 
colony was too strong to be defied. His men had 
all been scattered. His money was spent. He 
fought a losing fight for many years and died in 
poverty at the last. 

Endicott had other troubles on his hands besides 
the question of * * Merry Mount. ' ' One of these was 
a grant given by John Gorges to John Oldham, 
and to Sir William Brereton, dividing his original 
patent between them. The fates of these two 
colonies may be dismissed in a few words. Pres- 
sure was brought upon Brereton, and he joined 
his interests with those of the Puritans. Oldham 
was ejected from his rights, without recompense, 
and, later, he played a part in the founding of 
Connecticut. 

Puritan desires for emigration were growing 



THE PURITAN FLOOD 259 

stronger. The years 1628-1629 were dark ones 
for Protestantism. The surrender of Rochelle to 
Cardinal EicheHeu had ended the career of the 
French Huguenots as a political party. The Ger- 
man Protestants, engaged in the Thirty Years' 
War, were at the lowest ebb of their fortunes. 
Charles I was putting down Nonconformists with 
a merciless hand. 

The English Puritans leaned more and more to 
the plan of establishing a Commonwealth in a 
new country, a commonwealth which should be 
strictly English and strictly Puritan, and which, 
from the very beginning, should be organized on 
such lines that royalism would never be able to 
creep in. 

It is essential to an understanding of American 
History to realize what the Puritans planned. 
They did not seek to exploit the natives, as the 
Spanish ; nor to confine themselves to fur-trading, 
as the French and Dutch ; nor to establish a feudal 
estate, as did Ealeigh ; nor to slave on commercial 
lines for Enghsh merchants, as the Virginia Com- 
pany; nor to build up a landed aristocracy, as in 
Maryland; nor yet to found isolated religious 
communities, such as Plymouth. Nor even — as 
has been often mis-stated — did they purpose a 
refuge for the reHgiously persecuted ones of the 
earth. 

Far from it ! As seventeenth-century English- 
men, they had little love for foreigners. As Puri- 
tans, they had no love at all for any who differed 



260 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

from them in religious opinions, even in the 
smallest degree. 

By no stretch of the imagination can it be 
thought that Endicott, Winthrop or any of the 
Puritans had the faintest intention of establish- 
ing either political or religious liberty. They 
came to found a Bible Commonwealth after their 
own pattern, in which they should play the prin- 
cipal parts and could force every one else to obey 
their will. 

The extreme Puritans bent all their energies 
to extending the powers of the Charter of 1628. 
On March 4, 1629, Charles I confirmed to a cor- 
poration entitled **The Governor and Company 
of Massachusetts Bay in New England'' all the 
territory mentioned in the patent of the year 
before, but with powers so full and free that it 
is amazing that the King should have granted 
them. Undoubtedly, his hand was forced. 
Matthew Cradock was named as the first Gov- 
ernor. 

First a single ship and then a fleet of five ships 
were hurried to New England, arriving in June, 
1629. These six vessels brought over 400 colonists 
and a goodly supply of cattle and goats. The 
colony was firmly established. A Puritan Church 
organization was formed by Endicott, obedience 
to which was rigidly enforced. 

Endicott 's opinions are clearly set forth in his 
description of the religion of Plymouth Colony, 
as **no other than is warranted by the evidence 



THE PURITAN FLOOD 261 

of the truth. ' ^ He was, therefore, not only a Puri- 
tan but a Separatist, or, as the word was then 
beginning to be used, an Independent. Two min- 
isters who had come with the colonists, Samuel 
Skelton and Francis Higginson, declared them- 
selves Independents and were elected respectively 
pastor and teacher of the church. 

John Browne and Samuel Browne, two of the 
councillors who had been sent out by the new 
Massachusetts Bay Company to assist Endicott, 
refused to have anything to do with this Inde- 
pendent Church. They were moderate Puritans, 
hostile to Charles I and to Archbishop Laud, but 
conforming to the Church of England. Resting 
on the rights set forth in the charter, they held 
separate religious services, under the rites of 
the Church of England. The moderate Puritans 
among the settlers attended these services. 

Endicott, in a most high-handed and peremp- 
tory fashion, arrested the Brownes and sent them 
back to England. This action was inexcusable, 
for it was flatly contrary to the conditions of the 
charter and in defiance of the leaders in England 
who had sent these men as councillors. 

The Brownes complained to the Massachusetts 
Bay Company, which promptly censured Endicott 
for ** undigested counsels which may have an ill 
construction with the state here, and make us 
obnoxious to an adversary.^' When this act of 
fanaticism was capped by Endicott ^s illegal seizure 
of ** Merry'' Morton's property, the Company 



262 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

got rid of him. It was time! Endicott^s 'trea- 
sonable and heretical doings'' had reached the 
ears of the King. The new charter was in danger. 

Governor Cradock laid before the Corporation 
a startling series of suggestions that the govern- 
ment of Massachusetts Bay should be transferred 
to the colony itself. On August 26, 1629, twelve 
of the most influential members (among them John 
Winthrop and Thomas Dudley) met at Cambridge 
and bound themselves by a solemn promise to 
emigrate to New England with their families if 
the transfer of government could be effected. 

Three days later, the Corporation formally 
agreed. There was some discussion as to whether 
a royal grant was legally transferable but the 
courts approved and the transfer was made. 
Cradock, who did not wish to leave England, re- 
signed, and John Winthrop was chosen as Gov- 
ernor. Thomas Dudley was named as Assistant 
Governor. Both belonged to the extreme party 
in Puritanism. 

On March 29, 1630, Governor Winthrop boarded 
the Arabella, the flagship of a fleet of eleven ves- 
sels, carrying, in all, some 700 colonists. After 
a long and stormy voyage of nine weeks, the ships 
arrived at Salem on June 12, 1630. 

Winthrop found Endicott's colony *4n a sad 
and unexpected condition.'' Nearly a third of 
the colonists were dead, most of the remainder 
were weak from famine and sickness, there was 
scant food and less contentment. All would have 



THE PURITAN FLOOD 263 

died during the winter had not the Pilgrims sent 
them a doctor, medical supplies and all the pro- 
visions they could spare. 

The arrival of 700 colonists did little to help 
these conditions, for, as always, the space assigned 
for food in the ships was too small and the long 
voyage had exhausted most of the provisions. By 
some extraordinary piece of negligence, more- 
over, a large part of the supplies which had been 
intended for use that summer had been left behind. 

Endicott resented the arrival of Winthrop to 
supplant him, and many of the original settlers 
followed his lead. But Governor Winthrop was a 
severe man, and Dudley was severer still. Woe 
betide any who murmured I Endicott was quickly 
silenced. 

Winthrop, within a few days of his arrival, de- 
cided that Salem was an undesirable site for so 
great a colony as now was intended. He set up 
his capital at Charlestown, which had been laid 
out on Gorges' property, the year before. 

Early days here were gloomy. More than 100 
of the new settlers refused to stay and went back 
to England on the returning vessels of the fleet 
which had brought them. Some 60 more returned 
on another ship, declaring roundly that the ty- 
ranny of Winthrop was no better than the tyranny 
of Charles I. Others declared their intention of 
going back in the spring, since the ministers of 
the Independent or Congregational churches were 
**as heady and hierarchical as the popish prel- 



264 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

ates" of England. This opinion of American 
Puritanism by English Puritans is worth noting. 

Stem measures kept this mutinous spirit in 
hand, but thunderings from a pulpit could not pre- 
vent hunger. Before Christmas, over 200 of the 
new arrivals had died. Only clams, mussels and 
fish caught in the bay, prevented another ' ' Starv- 
ing Time^' like to that of Jamestown in 1609. 

Although the Pilgrims again came to their aid, 
men and women were dying on every hand. The 
outlook was desperate, when, on February 5, 1631, 
a ship arrived in the bay, bringing few settlers, 
but loaded to the last inch of space with the sup- 
plies and stores that the great fleet had left behind. 
This saved the day. Many more ships came in the 
spring. The Puritan flood had begun. 

During the next two or three years, the Puri- 
tans emigrated in such numbers as to cause alarm 
in England. The mother country saw that many 
of her best citizens were leaving. Several sub- 
stantial toAvns were organized on Massachusetts 
Bay, and, by 1634, there were 4000 persons in the 
colony. Nearly all were Puritans, but there were 
Puritans of every shade of opinion among them, 
from conforming Churchmen who opposed only 
the abuses of royalism and prelacy, to the wildest 
hot-heads of the most fanatic breed. 

Winthrop held them all in hand with amazing 
strength and wisdom. He created an ecclesias- 
tical state, a Bible Commonwealth, a theocracy in 



THE PURITAN FLOOD 265 

which the Corporation of Massachusetts Bay was 
the earthly voice of God. 

Such a condition would have been intolerable 
to Englishmen were it not that Winthrop was as 
just as he was stern, as honest as he was unyield- 
ing, and as sincere as he was bigoted. Godliness 
in Massachusetts Bay was real, not sham. The 
very difficulties and sufferings of the time brought 
about a lofty spirit and a high devotion which 
made the early Puritans of New England the finest 
body of men and women that ever founded a state. 

Even so, a Commonwealth based on narro^vness 
of doctrine could not enslave Englishmen. Men 
no less able and no less sincere than Winthrop, 
no less eager to uphold what they held to be the 
right, were equally ready to face the wilderness. 

Such men voluntarily exiled themselves from 
the intolerant tyranny of Salem and Charlestown, 
with the same desire for religious liberty as had 
impelled the Puritans to exile themselves from 
England. Thus Connecticut, Ehode Island, New 
Hampshire and Maine were bom. Their history 
and that of Massachusetts Bay up to and after 
the New England Confederation of 1643, belong 
rather to the story of the development of the 
colonies than to the planting of them. 

Thus were planted on the North American con- 
tinent the four great stocks of the white race 
whose influence was most potent in the develop- 
ment of America. 

In Florida, along the shore of the Gulf of 



266 THE COMING OF THE PEOPLES 

Mexico and in southern California, the Catholic 
Spaniards held sway. 

An English Church and royalist group, partly 
feudal with large plantations and a system of 
semi-slavery, and partly commercial with London 
merchants for directors, controlled Virginia. 

A feudal proprietorship or palatinate, Eoman 
Catholic in character, but tolerant in administra- 
tion, had been established in Maryland. 

On the Upper Delaware and Hudson Rivers, 
the Dutch traders of the Reformed Church main- 
tained a precarious hold. 

The Plymouth Colony of Separatists had won 
for itself a place of respect. 

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was evolving 
into a Puritan Commonwealth, intolerant of dis- 
sent, and sending out branches of a more mod- 
erate Puritanism to found other states. 

In Acadia and on the St. Lawrence River, the 
French maintained a gallant hold, despite their 
recent defeat at the hands of England. 

Settlements in Newfoundland were little more 
than fishing posts and the fishing rights were 
internationally divided. 

Of the interior, nothing was known. A few 
expeditions by the Spanish conquistadores in the 
far south had failed to reveal any civilization that 
might be exploited, and no settlement had been 
made. A few inland journeys had been made by 
French Jesuit Fathers in the north, but these 



THE PURITAN FLOOD 267 

were only the precursors of the great explorations 
to come. 

Hudson Bay and the Great Lakes were believed 
to be united, and despite the failure to find a 
strait, were believed to be a part of that South 
Sea that washed the shores of China, 

Only one hundred and thirty-four years elapsed 
between Columbus and Winthrop. The actors in 
that great struggle which should rock America to 
its foundations were already on the scene. Little 
did they imagine that a time would come when 
their descendants should dare to strike off the 
shackles of European dependence. 

Still less could any of these colonists have fore- 
seen a Republic of United States, wherein there 
could exist such high and holy things as political 
equality, personal liberty and religious toleration. 
Not one of these colonies could have brought about 
such a result, alone. Not to one, more than an- 
other, is the credit due. The glory belongs to all. 



THE END 



^ \J 



4 






%/ .^;^»". \„#* Z^'^'- ^' 






















% V 



SjCcJ^^- * 4 ^ ^j^^ ^.^ fi * »0 «• •' Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. ' "^ , 

UX^^^i^% i."^ "** a/<::C^7M^> V- ^^ •* Neutralizing Agent Magnesium Oxide f" J?^ 

^^i^l^J^* /I r r% ^^*izlr'^^* ^^ ^ " Treatment Date: r— - i^ ♦ 

V*<^> * S?0\^^»y2 vf^*P * /:^™""^^ '' PRESERVATION TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 3 

C. . rv "" ^^^L"^^^ * \ ^X * T^^^n^^ve " ^ ^ ^ Thomson Park Drive 

•^ ir» "* 1^^1111^^ * A^*C^^ oT/y7^^V\\y* Cranberry Twp., PA 16066 . 

P ^. *.^Wt^* ^ r:*. oW^KW* (412)779-2111 PV 



